


We Are The New Legends

by cuddlydreamsonrainydays



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abusive Father, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, F/M, Flower Crowns, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Psycho!Taylor, prince!niall, servant!Liam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4577787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlydreamsonrainydays/pseuds/cuddlydreamsonrainydays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall was never the usual prince.<br/>But then again, why would he want to be like that?<br/>He'll figure out somehow how to rule a kingdom right on his way, accompanied by sweet servant Liam and sassy princess Liz in his battle against his father, a psychopathic princess and his own mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Are The New Legends

**Author's Note:**

> Hey world!  
> This is my longest work so far and I hope you'll like it.  
> Of course I don't own One Direction and this doesn't reflect the real beliefs of all the existing persons mentioned.  
> Warning: Mentions of rape!  
> Other than that, enjoy!

In a universe not far from this, one might even say parallel, the world evolved differently from medieval times on. The monarchy continued, as the conditions and the standard of living got better for everyone. There were good kings and evil kings, good queens and evil queens, poor people and middle-class people. The arts of writing, telling and drawing evolved, while the sciences stayed at bay, with easy, yet far more effective methods of staying healthy in medicine and other discoveries to make life more pleasant, but no digging in technology. There were no cars invented neither was there electricity. Communication took place through letters and word of mouth, but the better part of the people were happy with the simple life they had, and who was a leader, a king, queen, princess or prince, lived a rich and fulfilled life without the desire to change anything about it. There were legends told about great times, but calm had come over the world and what was known of it.

 

Prince Niall James of Mullingar was not the usual prince. 

He was an utter disappointment to his father, the king, who had been a brave hero in his better times and now had too much belly fat to be carried on a horseback and too many servants to deny that he’s just the cliché of a spoiled old king. But he did have the old stories to talk about – how he had fought against other kingdoms in legendary battles, always with the golden, shining, royal armour. 

When he was very drunk, so about every second night, he would start telling about the women he had had as the young prince, how he had charmed them with his fit looks and his heroic stories, how they had come to him all voluntarily, knowing he didn’t want to be with them, but yet hoping to be the princess and the next queen, even though they would of course never admit it. The marriage with Niall’s mother had been arranged by again his father’s father to stop his son’s behaviour to prevent further shame for the kingdom of Mullingar. 

Granted, everything that the legends now told about the king was great and absolutely honorary stories. As someone with influence on the entire kingdom, the royal family of course had the writers under their control as well. Only when digging deep into the old books in the library, the journals and the letters that were stored there, barely readable, the truth was possible to be found out. 

If Niall had to describe his father with one word, it would be egomaniac, and he despised it. His biggest fear was to become a man like his father. It was cliché to want to be a rebel, and Niall knew that pretty well, but he’d rather be cliché and laughed upon than be like his father, an ignorant, lazy man, shouting and glaring at everyone if they didn’t get their job done properly and, most importantly, quick enough, but not moving as much as his little finger himself. 

His subjects of course were deeply tributary to him. They were infatuated, and Niall couldn’t really blame them, because they only had their legends and they knew that they had enough food to eat on their plates most of the time and nobody forced them to fight in wars anymore. That that wasn’t due to the king’s great political skills and an everlasting peace accomplishment with the kingdoms that they shared borders with but solely due to the king’s laziness wasn’t common knowledge. 

Niall was his father’s only son, his only child even, so he was the obligatory heir to the throne. He was eighteen years old and laughed upon by most of the people who didn’t know him. The people living in the kingdom, the people he was supposed to reign someday, saw him walking the gardens that belonged to the royal palace alone. If his father continued his lifestyle like that, he would die rather sooner than later of obesity and organ failure. Niall wasn’t ready to be the head of kingdom. And he had not yet found a girl, a future queen. This was essentially the point where his life differed the most from his father’s adolescence. 

Niall had never been with a girl, never using his royal status. He wasn’t muscular and sporty, most of the time he just walked through the gardens and he would occasionally go horse riding. He wasn’t stunningly good-looking. He also wasn’t bad-looking, but he was rather small, and blonde, and his eyes were just a little too bit and childlike. The women of the nearest towns that deliberately only picked their cherries from right next to the royal gardens would gossip about him, saying that he was weak and girly, not worthy of being a prince and a lazy little good-for-nothing. 

Niall didn’t care a lot. Those were the same women that believed the legends about his father and still thought they had a strong leader and an honourable king. They didn’t count, calling him lazy and his father brave. And they were right in some ways – Niall wasn’t exactly strong and heroic. He believed more in little nice gestures to brighten someone’s day than in starting a war for them. The staff in the palace loved him because he always found something nice to do or something interesting to tell, always had a smile for everyone and a helping hand for those in need. 

His father couldn’t know that, of course, that would be catastrophic. His son, the prince, the heir of the throne, associating with servants? Doing servant jobs? No way. Niall was supposed to fight, and to learn war strategy and languages and politics, and he was supposed to find a girl. He was eighteen, and he knew that he needed to marry soon. He didn’t really want to marry though, and the thought of sharing his whole life with another person, a girl, put him off. He avoided his father as much as just possible, hiding in the garden, in simple treehouses that he built with the gardener and living off the food that he got from the kitchens were he often stayed and talked to the cook for hours. 

She was a nice woman, and Niall had never gotten to know his mother who had died early in his childhood from an incurable disease. Her motherly instincts for the boy were strong, as she had known him from very early on. She was supportive of Niall, in contrary to the gossiping women behind the fence that would mock Niall’s flower crowns and the little notebook that he always carried around. He drew everything, but his favourite thing to draw and look at and smell and be surrounded by and practically just his favourite thing in the world in general were flowers. 

The royal gardens were filled with beautiful flowers. There were fields of roses in all imaginable variants, beds of lilies and tulips, tons of violets, sun flowers, chrysanthemums, poppies and many more, and even, planted especially for Niall, little areas with only daisies for his flower crowns. The gardens were his safe place where he could think, learn about philosophers and history and foreign languages, and draw. His notebook was filled with flower sketches. He never showed them to anyone, but they were his most valued treasure, despite all of the gold and the diamonds, the kingdom’s fortune that was bound to be his. 

So, Niall was very much unlike his father. Where his father was all shouting with a red face and angry eyes, Niall was kindness and smiles. But Niall was also lonely, even though he had all those people like the cook and the gardener and the man that took care of the royal horses and stables and the woman that organized all the finances of the kingdom, they were still somehow his servants, even if he refused to let them call him sir, and he could never truly connect with them. They were also all adults, decades older than him. Niall didn’t have any friends, because the brave boys and honourable boys his father picked out for him to associate with disgusted him, and he didn’t have a girl because he didn’t sneak out to fight battles and search for non-existent dragons in the mountains. He didn’t woo girls with looks and charm and superficial greatness, and he didn’t use his status as the future king. He had never felt like it. He didn’t even want it, he just felt like he was bound to, and he was. 

Never had he met someone of his age who just treated him normally, not like either a weakling or a prince that you had to bow down for. Niall was sick of it, but he was lonely. He longed for someone to talk to for hours or to just sit in silence with. He longed for someone to share his beliefs, his hatred of his father’s lifestyle and his love for art and kindness. He was sitting in a field of daisies by himself, carefully binding them to make a new flower crown, when he saw the gardener sprinting towards him. The poor man was out of breath when he reached him, normally laid back and calm about everything he did. The flowers were his passion and he loved and treated every single one of them, but he never rushed, that was his life philosophy. 

Niall jumped up, having forgotten about his flower crown at once, because if the gardener hurried like this, his order must have come from the king himself. 

“Sir, Niall, I mean, I’m so sorry, your father, he wants to see you,” he coughed. Niall put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at the man. 

“Thank you very much, Ed. I am going to see him immediately. You can take a break now.” 

“Thank you,” the gardener breathed. It was very important to Niall to know all of the names of the servants, because they were humans just as respectable, if not even more so, as someone of a higher social status. Aristocracy meant nothing to Niall, but the king was still the king, and not even the prince should make him wait, so Niall thanked Ed once more and then hurried to get back to the palace. 

At the entrance, he took of his flower crown and then proceeded to his father’s room with quick steps. A servant (his name was Mark) opened the door for him. Niall could only smile at him before he stood in front of his father. The king was, of course, eating. The poor servant that had to bring him food all day was standing beside him with a platter of pastries, smiling forcedly. Niall smiled at her and made a mental note to get her a day off as soon as possible. She looked like she could do with some rest. Bringing the king food had to be one of the most difficult and exhausting jobs in the entire palace. Munching, his father looked at Niall without as much as a smile. 

“Son,” he greeted. “Took you a while.” 

“I was outside, father,” Niall explained briefly. “What did you have to tell me?” 

“Ah, well, shouldn’t you know. Sit down. Servants, bring a chair for the prince! And you, bring some more of the pastries! And be quick!” 

Niall flinched. He tried to conceal his disgust as much as possible so his father wouldn’t see, but it pained him and felt like a betrayal of the servants that were the closest he had to friends. He sat down on the opposite of his father as he had been told, flashing the poor servant that had brought him a chair an apologetic smile. 

“You’re eighteen years old, son,” his father said gravely. “It’s time you get yourself a nice, obedient woman to be the queen by your side and to have a son with later on. You will the leader of a whole country when I can no longer do my job, and all I see you doing is wandering around! So, I have decided that something needs to be done, and I invited all of the suitable young women of near kingdoms that we currently have a friendly relation with. There will be a ball in two weeks where all of them will be presented to you and then you may choose one.” His breathing was heavy.

Niall stared at his father, who seemed very pleased with himself and had a satisfied expression on his bloated face. He looked like a pig, Niall thought, but a choleric pig with power. A normal pig’s temper couldn’t cause deaths. 

“Finally!” Niall flinched once again, but his father hadn’t been shouting at him, he had been shouting at the servant girl, Lily was her name, that had brought the pastries. She was red in the face and obviously scared to death, and Niall felt even sorrier for her. 

“And now get me some gin,” his father commanded. Niall wanted to scoff, but he was wise enough not to, and the girl ran again. His father stuffed a pastry into his mouth with his hands so fat that even the fingers wobbled when he moved them, and turned back to Niall. 

“Don’t you have anything to say about this?” 

“I’m sorry, father. It is a bit of a shock,” Niall apologized. He wasn’t really shocked, though. He didn’t want to have an arranged marriage, to settle down and become an asshole as horrible as his father! He didn’t want to think about children and a son to be the king after him at the age of eighteen when he had never experienced a romantic relationship or even a crush on someone ever! Sure, he could tell when a girl was good-looking, but he had never met someone who made his heart beat faster. He didn’t want any of this to happen so quickly, and forced, and he knew that his father hadn’t set this up for Niall to be happy, but for the kingdom to expand. 

This wasn’t love, it was business, and once he was married, Niall knew that he could never experience the true love he had always so foolishly believed in. He would have to continue reading books in the big, mostly unused library down in the basement, which he suspected his father to never have set just one foot into, and dreaming about love and fate and all the romantic things that never happened. Inside, Niall was devastated, but he had an act to play under the suspicious eyes of his father. 

“I wouldn’t have expected it so soon, but I am of course very glad to follow my designation and become a worthy heir of the throne.” His own words made him want to vomit, but he forced out a smile and didn’t allow himself to look away from his father’s eyes. 

“I have raised you right, after all,” the king commented and Niall wanted to tell him that he didn’t even raise him, that he had had a nurse and the cook and the gardener and his teacher and basically every staff member of the senior staff and that all of them had done a better job raising him than his own father, but he stayed silent. The girl arrived with the gin and his father was distracted again. 

“You may leave,” he informed Niall, not even looking at him anymore, and then directed all of his attention at the alcohol. 

Niall was for once glad to obey, stood up and hurried out of the room. He went back into the gardens, where he absentmindedly finished his flower crown and then tried to draw a beautiful bed of roses, but he just couldn’t focus. His thoughts kept trailing back to the dreaded ball. He had of course known that someday, he’d have to marry someone, and if he didn’t find a suitable future queen, as is father had put it, he’d have to get a marriage arranged. But he hadn’t really thought that much about it, had avoided to let himself do so because he didn’t want to go looking for someone. 

Niall, even though he had never experienced anything romantic, not even watching in his near surroundings, was a hopeless romantic. He was fairly sure that the cook and the gardener were in love with each other, but he didn’t quite see his purpose in match-making, regarding his lack of experience, so he let it be after both of them had denied it in seconds. His parents had neither ever been in love, nor had he seen them together except for in pictures, and their expressions were serious in pictures. They were the royals, after all. And the servants weren’t allowed to let it show if they happened to be romantically involved of course, they were at work. So, apart from his books, no romance for Niall. 

Still, he believed in true love, the kind that no one should go looking for, the kind that came for you when you least expected it. An arranged dance where he was supposed to choose between multiple candidates for his future wife was just not what he wanted. It was, though, what he ought to have been expecting. It was the best for his kingdom’s future.

The kingdom of Mullingar was of average size. It took about three days to cross it from north to south on the back of a horse and it had lots of little villages spread all over it. The landscape was formed by soft, green hills and small rivers and lakes. The palace was about in the middle of it and the town nearby was the capital of the kingdom, with the police and the ministry for just about everything. 

The inhabitants of the kingdom of Mullingar were normal people. Most of them were satisfied with their life and the steady peace that had lasted for thirty years by now. Niall had never experienced war, just like every other child and adolescent in his kingdom. The people payed their taxes and their children even went to school, learned to read and write, even though practically everyone was either a farmer or a trader. Legends of the old days were told and once every year, the peace and the glory of the kingdom were celebrated, the heroes of the war and the famous battles. Everyone came together in the capital then, and it was the only time of the year that Niall left the palace. 

He always watched them, though, the inhabitants of Mullingar, when they passed by the fence that separated the gardens of the palace from the rest of the land, watched the traders with their horses and carriages and watched the women picking the fruits that grew on the trees right behind the fence. Apples, cherries, plums. They were always there, picking and gossiping. Niall could hear what they were saying, but he didn’t have any faces to the names, so the information he got didn’t touch him and he would forget about it soon after. Their life was the same every day, but then again, so was his. 

Or had been, until now. 

Of course, even though the kingdom of Mullingar and its inhabitants were happy in their state of peace, a king always had to desire to improve the life of his inhabitants and to increase the size of the kingdom. When this couldn’t be done by winning a war and invading other kingdoms through force, you had to do it the legal way: by marriage. Two kingdoms would be one, and Niall would be the king and therefore the leader of the entire joined kingdom. Niall had never understood why bigger was a synonym of better. 

Why couldn’t a kingdom be small? 

The inhabitants were happy with their life now, weren’t they? 

They had never known anything else but war, which was of course interesting and what was talked about for decades afterwards, but never really wanted, the least by those who had to fight in it and suffer from lack of food and nurse the injured, and the peace they lived in now. Their lives were a little boring, but at least people died from old age and weren’t brutally murdered in a battle. So, why did everything always have to be bigger? Niall preferred to focus on the beauty of the little things in life. 

He sighed and put down his finally finished flower crown. In the end, it wasn’t like he’d actually have a choice or just a say in the matter, and hopefully there’d be someone nice at least, maybe a princess with a mind of her own and interesting thoughts to share for a change so they could talk and maybe even fall in love a bit. 

Niall sighed again and exchanged the old flower crown on his head for the fresh one before he stood up and slowly wandered through the garden. He wondered what romantic attraction felt like. Did it come slow or did it hit all at once? Would it make his life brighter, or would it be disastrous? He longed for love, but he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get it. 

He really wasn’t the usual prince. He was no hero. He’d read the legends of his kingdom, his ancestors, and he’d read the legends of other kingdoms, and the princes were always brave heroes. They fought entire armies of a thousand men on their own, just with a sword and a horse, or somehow turned a lost battle around in the very last second. The princesses came running after them with heart eyes and they fell in love with the most beautiful that just so happened to have the biggest heart (not literally) at first sight. 

Niall’s rational part knew that a lot of the written legends had been tales told at night and for little children too often to be anywhere near the actual truth, and that a lot of it was only made up because kings and queens needed to feel big. A royal had to be special, right? Their blood was blue and their ancestors were noble heroes. There weren’t any scandals or weaknesses. 

Niall witnessed every day how unreliable the stories were. He heard the women behind the fence talking about their great king, his stunning looks, his cunning brain and his political skills, when in reality his father was anything but great. He was obese, lazy and choleric. The only things he did were shouting and eating, while his servants did all of the work. He was merely a king for representative purposes, and his better days were so long ago that he couldn’t even do that job properly anymore. A wide robe could hide a lot, but it got more and more difficult for him to move, to walk just a few steps, and he was constantly under the influence of alcohol. Niall stayed out of his way for his own safety, and he pitied every servant that worked directly for the king, secretly treating them extra well. 

No, the king of Mullingar was no saint, but in legends, he would be, because he already was in the rumours and stories about him in the present and what is common belief becomes truth when the real truth has been forgotten. Niall knew that the legends most likely weren’t true. But they still weren’t instrumental in his self-esteem, because there was at least a little bit of truth behind every legend, how many alterations it might have gone through, and Niall wasn’t at all like the princes that were honoured in the stories. 

He was soft, and blonde, and he wore flower crowns because he liked them. He liked to draw instead of fighting and he liked to read instead of expressing himself loudly. Regarding all of that, he was sure that if it were actually possible, his father would have disowned him by now and gotten an heir of the throne worthier than Niall. But Niall was his only son, so they were both stuck with each other. 

The blonde shook his head and turned around on his heels so sharply that his flower crown almost flew off his head. He had moved quite far away from the palace already, and the sun was setting. Maybe he could forget about everything that was happening if he just went to sleep. So he wandered back through the flowers, trying to soak up their beauty and get lost in it as always but failing miserably. He met no one on his way, and not even the birds were singing. 

That wasn’t a good sign, even Niall who was strictly against all the ghost stories that went around felt that. When he reached the palace, the main doors were already closed. He hadn’t realized before how far his feet and helpless thoughts had actually taken him, but it was late by now and he was cold in his simple shirt and pants. Shivering, he turned for the only lit windows that he could spot. The door he opened was the kitchen’s entrance. He walked in and stopped dead at the scenery in front of him. 

The cook, Maura, and the kitchen maid whose name he believed to be Louisa or something like that, were still up, but apart from them the kitchen was empty. It was way past their working hours and the place seemed clean and prepared for the next morning’s usual early rise to make the king a proper breakfast that would easily serve three grown men. Niall already wanted to scold them for staying so long and disregarding their own need for sleep when he heard something that made him listen closely first. They hadn’t noticed him yet and he stayed quiet. 

“You need to, love,” Maura said softly. She was embracing the girl in a tight, motherly hug, rocking her back and forth slightly. Niall knew the feeling of safety that she was able to provoke with her hugs very well, having received them from early on. He’d still come to Maura whenever he felt in need of a hug, but his own problems were forgotten for a moment. The girl seemed to be crying, and Niall itched to know why and what she needed to do. 

“I can’t, we need the money,” she sobbed, barely audible, but Niall heard it in the dead silence. 

“They need you with them, too,” Maura argued, but her tone wasn’t really convincing. 

Niall bit his lip. He just needed to hear some more. His father didn’t approve of helping the servants, of being nice to them. In his opinion, servants should be frightened and had to be to do their job properly. Niall believed the opposite. The staff should like working for them and feel valued for their work to be the best. But sadly, the princes’ opinion never counted as much as the king’s. Still, if there was a way to help, he would. His father, being as lazy as he was, didn’t necessarily have to get involved in the affair. 

“I love my Dad so much,” the girl cried, and a sharp jolt of pain went through Niall’s chest at the sound of the words, the meaning of the sentence and the real feelings behind it. “I can’t stop thinking about it. If I don’t go and help treating him he might die, and it would be my fault, but if I go I’ll be fired and I will have neither a job nor a man and I won’t be able to support my family with money anymore and then my little siblings will die because they don’t get any food or medicine. I don’t know what I can do.” 

Niall could see the girl shaking and her hands clenching Maura’s kitchen whites. He had heard more than enough. Before Maura was able to respond, he cleared his throat. The two females in front of him let go of each other immediately, staring at him with deadly fear in their eyes. Niall swallowed uncomfortably. He tried his best, but he just couldn’t get rid of the fear that his father pushed onto the servants with his temper and his severe punishments. He was the kindest he could be, but it still wasn’t enough to influence his father in any way and Niall knew that that was partly because he’d never mastered to actually stand up to the king. When they realized that it was only the prince though, they both relaxed visibly. Louisa’s eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks puffy and swollen from crying. Niall politely looked away. 

“Prince Niall,” Maura said. While she still seemed like a heavy stone had been lifted off her chest only moments ago, she already jumped into servant mode within mere seconds. “Oh thank god it’s you, only. Can we help you in any way? Do you need something?” 

“Actually, no,” Niall said softly and took two steps forward. “I was just coming back from a walk when I realized that the lights were still on and I feared you were working this late thought you know you shouldn’t, so I wanted to stop by and tell you that whatever it was you were working on, your health was more important and sleep shouldn’t be postponed. But now, it seems we have a problem that should be postponed even less. What is it with your Dad, Louisa, right? I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, and I’m very sorry, but I think I can help you.” 

“Louise, actually.” The girl shivered. He had never really spoken directly to her. If he could recall his memory correctly, she was rather shy but sweet and always hard-working. 

“He’s ill,” she answered quietly. “My mother can’t afford someone to look out for him, and my siblings are still so young.” Maura patted her shoulder comfortingly. Louise looked at Niall. She still feared him, obviously. Looking even younger than Niall, the burden she had to carry was certainly too much for those slim shoulders and he was determined to get rid of some of the weight for her. She was doing a good job, after all. 

“Maura, do you think you can handle the kitchen alone for a few days until we’ve found a new assistant for you?” He asked. 

“Of course I can,” she responded almost as if he’d offended her skills, and he smiled. 

“Of course,” he echoed and then turned to Louise. “If so I order you to take a break as long as you need to. Your pay will still be sent regularly. I trust you to come back only when things are sorted out at your home again and we will gladly welcome you back.” 

Niall could feel Maura’s fond smile on him, but he was looking at Louise and enjoying the absolute happiness and relief that spread over her face when she slowly realized what he had just offered. Her eyes filled with tears again, but tears of joy this time, and a smile that was definitely worth the dangerous situation Niall was putting himself into surfaced through the pain. That girl had definitely deserved some kindness in her life, and Niall was glad to be the one to provide it. 

“Thank you so much, Sir,” she stuttered and curtsied repeatedly. “It is a pleasure,” Niall said smoothly. “I expect you to follow my orders at once, naturally. Go pack your necessities immediately.” He knew that he was making it easier for her, phrasing his offer like a command so she wouldn’t feel obliged to deny it. Commands had to be obeyed, very much unlikely offers that were of course not really appropriate for a servant of a status as low as the kitchen maid. 

Niall didn’t like to base a person’s value on their status and even less how they should be treated because normally, you didn’t choose the life you were born into, but you could always choose to be an asshole. Sadly, that was basically the entire concept of aristocracy. Niall knew that people would always think he had it easy. He was privileged, after all. 

He belonged to those who actually benefited from their society, beliefs and values. But just like everyone else, Niall hadn’t chosen being born a prince. Louise, obviously lost for words, just nodded with a more than obvious blush on her cheeks, curtsied one more time and then ran off. Maura came towards Niall and stroked his cheek. 

“You’re a good boy, you know. When you reign this kingdom someday, you are bound to do it the right way because you always put everyone else’s well-being first, and that’s exactly how a king should treat his subjects. Louise is a good girl, really. There is so much pressure upon her, she deserves the break and to be with her family for a while.” 

Niall sighed. 

“I know it was right to send her home,” he said and leaned against the stove. He was just about to add another sentence when a stern, roaring voice interrupted him. 

“Send who home?” The king himself was in the doorway, sitting in his chair, his four servants whose only purpose it was to carry him everywhere standing next to him with flushed but expressionless, experienced faces. His face was red from anger and his fat hands were balled into fists. 

“What have you done, son? And why do I find you in the kitchen? You are not allowed to talk to servants! And what is that stupid girly thing on your head? Are those flowers?” His triple chin wobbled with every word and it could have been funny if Niall’s father wasn’t so scary when he was angry and if he wasn’t the king. Niall could smell the alcohol from metres away. He stumbled two steps back automatically, but then forced himself to get his shit together again and looked up with his chin high. 

Nevertheless, he quickly took the flower crown of, letting it drop to the floor and stepping in front of it. With one more step, he also covered Maura and shielded her from his father’s rage. He had to stand up for his actions, even though it frightened him so much that his legs threatened to not hold him much longer. 

“I sent the kitchen maid home because there are troubles with illness in her family,” he stated and kept his voice as firm as possible. It only broke once. “I told her to come back when everything is sorted out and work on like before. She has done her work well so far.” 

The king was silent for a moment, and so was the kitchen. Radio silence. Not a sound was to be heard, and Niall swore he could hear his father’s brain working, processing the information. He mentally prepared himself to run or to duck. His father’s breathing then speeded up as expected. His neck seemed to swell even more and his veins were showing like angry blue lines on his white, greasy skin. He furrowed his brows and stared at Niall with something in his small eyes that could be described as nothing but absolute hatred and disgust. 

“You will right now take that back and tell that girl that if she leaves, she’d better never ever be seen near here again! You will no longer associate with the servants in any way. Go up to your room and stay there! You will choose a wife already one week from now, we’ll do the ceremony earlier. Until then, I will not restrain from anything to finally make you see what a real and worthy prince should act like,” he roared furiously. “If I hear of you near the kitchens until then, I will choose for you and you won’t be happy with my choice. I shall also think of a special punishment.” 

Niall flinched. 

“I’m afraid she’s already left,” he said, or rather winced. He felt beyond pathetic, but he needed to stand up. “I did the right thing, father.” 

“How dare you talk back to me, you ungrateful disappointment!” Niall looked at the kitchen floor in defeat and quickly retreated, leaving the kitchen and heading for his own room. This hadn’t been his first try to be brave, but he had to face the truth again and again. He just wasn’t cut for it. 

He was all kindness and good with words and art, but when it came to actually doing something, to changing what he didn’t like, he always backed out sooner or later and he despised himself for it. The words had hit him like a slap across the face, just like every time his father would lash out at him. Louise could help her family now, but Niall had to pay for it. 

He didn’t regret his decisions at all. She had a loving, caring family, even though they appeared to be poor and plagued by problems, and she cared about them and loved them. She wanted to go home, and when she had spoken of her Dad there had been unmistakable love in her voice. Niall wanted her to be able to actually use the chance she had with a family like that, and he knew that he really had done the exactly the right thing, only he did wish his father hadn’t shown up. 

Niall believed in kindness with every part of him, but living with a father like his, even he found it hard to stay true to himself all the time when everything he ever received from someone who should be a role model was brutality and harshness. Down in the kitchen, he had lost his flower crown, yet another sane part of himself and the light in his life once again. Most importantly, he had lost his dignity for the millionth time. 

His father, though Niall fought against it every time with every bit of strength and willpower he had, managed to pull his self-esteem down every single time with only a few well-placed words and just the insults that went straight to his soul. 

Niall curled up on his bed. He knew that his father wasn’t quite finished with him yet, knew from experience what would be happening soon. He made himself as small as possible, but he still felt like the air in his room was crushing him. It was nerve-wracking to lie in bed and wait. 

Niall’s heartbeat sped up at every creak of the window from the wind and every sound that the wood in the old castle made. He didn’t go to sleep. 

It was hours later that it happened. Niall had lost track of everything by then, no longer controlling his breathing or his fingers. They were strumming a silent, nervous rhythm on his blanket just so he didn’t notice how crazily his hands were actually shaking. His breathing tended to stop for seconds, minutes, and then he would have to breathe heavily to make up for the lack of oxygen, only to hold his breath again a few seconds later because his breathing was so, so loud. His head was spinning. 

He heard the footsteps, heavily and slowly, and he heard his father’s breathing. The king sounded like a dying whale. That was when his obesity really showed. His room, his royal suite, wasn’t even that far from Niall’s, but for a man of his weight and body condition, the short distance at incredibly slow speed was like a running forty kilometres within four hours. The ugly sound of the heavy breathing made Niall wonder how much longer the king would live until his organs finally couldn’t bear his intake and his fat mass anymore and just gave up. 

It was morbid to him, but he kind of wished for the day to come soon. His father was the last bit of family he had left, legally, but then again, what kind of family had he ever been? Niall only noticed that he had been holding his breath again when his lungs practically screamed for fresh air and made him breathe automatically. 

He was cold in the warm summer’s night, shivering from sheer dread. The handle of his door was pushed down. The door itself was opened with a distressing creaking sound. The heavy thumps of his father’s feet in woollen slippers were now in his room. 

Niall didn’t look up. 

He stayed with his face buried in his soft, simply white pillow all night, not daring to move the first time the leather belt touched his bare back, not daring to move the second time. He lost count when the pain became unbearable, but he didn’t let one single sound escape his mouth and suffered in silence, hot tears streaming out of his eyes and getting soaked up by the pillow. 

When his father finally left, Niall wasn’t physically able to move anymore. 

His back was on fire. 

He could feel blood dripping down and ruining the white sheets with red stains. Bruises were forming. But he wasn’t only scarred on the outside. 

Prince Niall James of Mullingar was a total wreck created by his abusive father who had too much anger to keep it inside. With a wounded back like this, Niall didn’t even bother to think about sleeping at all. He didn’t really think about anything. The only sensation on his mind was pain. 

Niall’s life may seem perfect and easy to those who lived in poverty, but every person had their own backpack to carry and Niall’s happened to be the scars everywhere on his body and soul, given to him by his own father. 

His mind was restless all night, without focus, while he lay still until he noticed how it got lighter around him when the sun was rising early in the morning. He groaned quietly.

He tried moving, but the tiniest twitch of his muscles caused a jolt of pain so intense that it made almost pass him out. Dizzy from the effort, Niall collapsed and fell into another period of restless, feverish almost sleeping. When he snapped out of his painful haze the next time, it was around noon and he was hungry. Moving worked this time, if only very slowly and carefully. 

Niall gritted his teeth and ignored the pain that was involved in the process of sitting up. Nobody could see what had been done to his back. He was kind of lucky that he technically wasn’t allowed to leave his room and Maura knew. The furthest he had to walk was across the room to reach his massive wooden wardrobe. He took out the baggiest shirt he could find, a plain black one to conceal eventual blood stains, and then awkwardly sat down on his bed again. 

He couldn’t lie down on his back and he couldn’t lean against his pillow, so he was left with sitting up straight if he didn’t want to lie on his stomach anymore. Still hungry, he rang the big bell that hung next to his bed. Seconds later, a servant that he, in his current state, really couldn’t remember the name of, opened his door. 

“How may I help you, Prince Niall?” He asked formally. Niall smiled at him half-heartedly. He was weak, yes, and he let his father take lots of him, but there was one thing that he would never let the king accomplish, and that was to turn Niall mean like him. 

“Would you be so kind to get me some breakfast food, please,” he asked as nicely as possible through gritted teeth. The servant bowed his head. 

“Anything you wish, Prince Niall,” he said as it was expected from him. Niall sighed internally at the formality, he was younger than most of his servants, but he knew pretty well that it would be good for nothing to attempt to change their attitude towards him. He’d only risk their well-being and his own for something that would be nice unquestioningly, but not strictly necessary. The way they talked to each other didn’t harm anyone, and as long as Niall himself talked nicely to everyone, he could let them address him like they did with a clear conscience. 

Ten minutes later, the servant showed up again with a platter of chocolate chip pancakes and fresh fruit. Niall thanked him and took the food. When the servant had left discreetly, he examined the plate more closely. There was, of course, a small note from Maura on it. 

This wasn’t his first time of being grounded to his room, so he and Maura were already familiar with the entire sending food thing. She wished him all the best and wrote that Louise had made it home safely. Niall was fairly glad about that. At least yesterday’s events had impacted one family’s life positively.   
Maura also suggested a new book to read. Niall smiled, but it was a pained smile. Everything she ever read, and she spent basically her entire free time reading or sleeping, were love stories with romantic drama and sappy happy endings. Thinking of those made Niall think of his father’s plans which he had forgotten about temporarily. 

The bruises and open flesh wounds on his back would be barely healed by the end of the week, when the dance was supposed to happen. Niall absolutely dreaded it. He was miserable, he had a headache and the feverish feeling was getting worse, so after breakfast, he somehow managed to get into the bathroom. He carefully avoided looking at himself in the mirror above the sink. His cheeks felt pretty swollen and his eyes were sure to be bloodshot. He brushed his teeth. Back in his room, he just lay down again and tried to drift off once more. 

Five days passed just like that, with Niall sleeping and eating and sleeping and eating and just getting the rest he needed desperately. He was also getting lonely, though, and he missed the gardens and his flowers. When he looked into the mirror, all he noticed were his dull eyes and the lack of a flower crown on top of his head. The bruises were fading, though, and the wounds healing. On the fifth day after the incident, Niall could finally lie on his back again. 

He celebrated it by staring at the ceiling and contemplating how he could possibly get out of the forced marriage. He plotted multiple ways, getting more and more unrealistic with every single one, but deep inside, he knew that he would never actually do something that could hurt the inhabitants of Mullingar or be in general bad for anyone, so every plan he made was just a straw to grasp onto for a temporary while. 

On the sixth day just before noon, a servant brought Niall a suit to try on. He didn’t want to admit it, but it fit perfectly. Whoever had made it for him had done an impressive job. Later that day, he was given a list of names. His father, or rather the servant in charge, had managed to invite ten princesses of different kingdoms that would all somehow be an enrichment for the kingdom of Mullingar. 

Niall read through all of them once, memorizing them because it would be incredibly rude not to, but then put the list away. On the morning of the seventh day, and it was Saturday by then, he woke up definitely healed enough for nobody to notice he had barely been able to leave his bed only days ago. 

It was the day of the ball. 

He only needed to open his window to be able to tell that the entire palace was buzzing with excitement. He could hear Ed humming a song from a field of flowers that he was watering somewhere near Niall’s window and he could hear the chatter of the servants that were setting up decorations and tables everywhere. 

He wondered what Maura had done, because from his watching spot at the window, he could see cakes and pastries and every finger food anyone could possibly wish for, and there was no way that she had done all of that alone all while mastering the daily grind of the king’s insatiable food cravings. She must have gotten someone to help her, quite probably even more than just one person. 

Niall never really worried about Maura. She was strong and she had her own way of reaching what she had aimed for, but he felt deep affection for her and always wanted her best, so he really just hoped that she’d gotten enough sleep. 

At noon, there was a servant knocking at his door, telling him that he had received the order to get ready, directly from the king, as a matter of course. The poor servant looked frightened, and Niall offered him a friendly smile and a biscuit that he had left over from breakfast. Thankfully bowing, the servant took it and left. 

Niall sighed and pulled the suit out of his wardrobe. So it was time. His hands shook while he was buttoning up the white dress shirt that belonged to the classy greyish suit and the blue tie that was certainly supposed to match his eyes. He laughed humourlessly. Someone had put an awful lot of effort into this, but Niall couldn’t let the guilt because he didn’t value the product of hours of hard work make him step back and pretend once again. He’d made a promise to himself that he would never ever get guilt-tripped anymore. 

He was ready, his hair styled and the small pimple on his forehead concealed, about an hour after the servant had told him that he was supposed to get ready, having showered and everything. Niall pulled a face at himself in the mirror. He looked too serious for his own liking, too grown up. The childish, carefree touch of his flower crown made out of daisies, only ever daisies, was missing and so were the simple shirts and trousers that he prefers to wear instead of his suit. 

Niall had to remind himself that he was the prince and that his actions were important for the entire kingdom. The thought alone made him feel like he was going to be sick. He stared out of the window, but he didn’t have a lot of time to find his peace and calm again before there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in,” he called. Maura stood in front of the door. While Niall was all dressed up, she was clearly stressed. There were spots on her kitchen whites and her hair was ruffled, because there was just too much to do to care about appearance for the servants that stayed behind the scenes, anyway. Niall smiled widely at her as she came in. 

“Maura,” he beamed happily. 

“You look good, Prince Niall,” she announced, smoothening out some crinkles on his outfit and making sure that the tie fit correctly. “I wanted to see you once more before tonight, so I snuck up here and waited until someone came to tell you that it’s starting soon. You should get down there now, but I’ve got one last thing for you.” She looked at him fondly and then pulled a daisy out of her apron. 

“Ed told me to give you this,” she explained. “We know that you probably will, but please stay grounded out there and don’t let anyone change you! I will hopefully see you again when this is all over.” 

And with that, she rushed out of the room and Niall was left with a warm feeling in his heart and a single daisy in his hand. He carefully put it in the front pocket of his jacket, already feeling better when he glanced into the mirror one last time, even though nothing about his appearance had really changed. After that, he had no logical reason to stay in his room any longer. With a sinking feeling in his chest, he walked down the halls for the first time in days. 

Everything was cleaned up to perfection. Niall felt like he could use every even surface as a mirror, it was so sparkling clean. There were also flowers every few metres the nearer he got to the official rooms of the palace, to the ballroom specifically. He looked at the beautiful flower arrangements in awe, wishing he had time to draw them or make a flower crown, but for the moment, he needed to focus. When he arrived at the ballroom, the goings-on was hectic, but someone immediately saw him entering and rushed towards him. 

“Prince Niall,” the servant greeted. Niall was fairly sure that it was the one who was the foreign correspondent and had therefore had the job to organize all of this. He looked stressed enough to be. Niall felt bad for him. It wasn’t like the poor man had chosen what he did for himself, he had just done what the king had told him. 

“Your place is over there, on your father’s right. The princesses will start arriving in only minutes. You might want to sit down already and go over this-“ he pulled a list similar to the one Niall had already had to read through the day before out of his bag and handed it to him “-or just get used to your surroundings. I will be the one to present the princesses with their name and their kingdom, so I will be on your father’s left. If there’s anything you have a question about, you can always ask me.” 

Niall had barely enough time to nod before the man was gone and Niall could not even spot him in the mass of people anymore. They were carrying around flowers and food or just passing papers back and forth and running from one person to the next. The orchestra on the stand was getting ready as well, only adding to the mix of noises by pitching the instruments. 

Niall resisted the urge to put his hands over his ears and sat down in his place, the smaller throne to his father’s right. He ignored the king, and the king ignored him because he was too busy shouting at someone for something too banal to care about. 

Niall’s mind was on other things. He had barely had enough time to collect himself when the approximately hundred people that had been running around suddenly either took their positions at the entrance or the buffet or left to get back to their job behind the scenes. 

Niall hadn’t heard the signal, but it must’ve been there, because the entire ballroom went quiet all at once. It was really massive and the show-off piece of the palace for those who liked all the gold and the glitter. The ceiling showed a scenery from the most famous battle in the history of the kingdom of Mullingar, painted years ago in oil as a fresco. Niall had to admit that it was great artwork. 

He didn’t have further time to admire his surroundings, though. On yet another signal that he failed to receive, the orchestra that had gone quiet with the rest of the staff began to play a slow and festive march and the big, heavy wings of the entrance door were pulled open ceremonially. The organizer from before stood up. 

“Princess Felicity of the kingdom of Rosemount!” 

As soon as he’d announced the first one in a row of ten, she could be seen at the entrance, accompanied by her father and mother. She was blonde and surely beautiful, wearing a pastel blue dress and smiling widely. 

Niall smiled back at her, but inside, he realized once again how stupid this whole set-up was. How was he supposed to get to know ten princesses and choose the one he was most likely to fall in love with in only a few hours? The royals from Rosemount settled down on the left side of the room where a row of posh chairs stood and there bottoms had only just touched the red velvet when the next princess was announced just as enthusiastically as the Princess Felicity. It was a nice name, really, but Niall looked at her and felt nothing and that wasn’t what love or even just attraction was supposed to feel like. 

“Princess Gemma of the kingdom of Listowel!” 

Princess Gemma was with her parents just like the first one, but she was walking a bit further away from them, holding her head high with confidence. Her dress was lavender and with more satin and lace than Felicity’s, but Felicity’s complimented her looks perfectly with its simplicity.

“Princess Barbara of the kingdom of Templemore!” 

She was with only her father, wearing a simple but effective black dress, but seeming rather nervous. Niall smiled and smiled, but his thoughts were circling aggressively. 

“Princess Phoebe of the kingdom of Cloughjordan!” 

Yet another princess in a light blue dress. She looked at ease, but also bored, and Niall could tell that it hadn’t been her decision to come here and that she didn’t try to get chosen by him. Her mother accompanied her, but Niall wasn’t able to spot a father. 

“Princess Taylor of the kingdom of Dunmore!” 

This girl had a stunning appearance. She had long, blonde hair and was really tall. In addition, she wore eye-catching red lipstick and walked into the ballroom as if it was already hers. Niall immediately disliked her. 

“Princess Eleanor of the kingdom of Greystones!” Princess Eleanor was a girl with long, brown hair and a sweet smile. Her dress was of a deep red. She had come with a mission, Niall could see that clearly, and it make him uncomfortable to an extent that he had to force his smile. 

“Princess Ruth of the kingdom of Waterville!” 

Bored, was the first word that came into Niall’s mind when he spotted the sixth candidate with her parents. She appeared to be older than him and it was obvious to someone with a bit of a sense for people like Niall’s that she didn’t really consider marrying him. 

“Princess Georgia of the kingdom of Edenderry!” 

The seventh candidate was wearing a purple dress and holding her head up high. She smiled at Niall cockily and Niall already knew that she definitely wasn’t the one. 

“Princess Lux of the kingdom of Waterford!” 

This one seemed to be the youngest so far. Her dress was of a quirky yellow and her smile was not yet majestic and serious like the ones that the other princesses carried. She looked more carefree. Niall took a liking to her immediately, deciding to talk to her first. She was accompanied by her parents, but her father was clearly the one in charge. He had a hand on her back and Niall could imagine how controlled she must feel. From the confidence that she carried herself with he could tell that he didn’t keep in constant touch with her for support. 

“Princess Nicola of the kingdom of Clonakilty!” 

Princess Nicola was all blonde hair, a light green dress and pale skin. Everything about her seemed light, except for her smile, which looked uncomfortable and forced. Niall automatically made a mental note to go talk to her and find out what was wrong later on. 

“Princess Elizabeth of the kingdom of Oldcastle!” 

The tenth and therefore last candidate did surely leave an impression. Princess Elizabeth walked into the room in a red dress and with a confidence that Niall could almost feel physically. Her aura was great, but when she was the closest to Niall she would get, she stared at him intently with a pleading look in her eyes and shook her head so lightly that Niall almost missed it. 

Not this one, then. At least she made her intentions clear. 

With everyone at their rightful place, the organizer started a speech about how honoured the kingdom of Mullingar was and stuff like that that Niall barely listened to. He had seen all ten girls now, and though he had seen some that seemed nicer and others that he could rule out quickly, he didn’t feel drawn to any of them. With a shudder, he realized that every single one of those he had taken a liking to didn’t seem like they actually came here with the intention to find a husband. 

“May this evening be a success for every one! And now, I declare the buffet and the dancefloor opened for everyone,” the organizer finally finished. A lot more people started to come in through the open doors, chosen people from every kingdom to participate in the first get-together of ten kingdoms in centuries. The orchestra began to play a song that was neither too fast nor too slow to begin with, and Niall stood up from his seat. 

He had to get over with his, didn’t he? 

So, as he had decided before, he went to look for Princess Lux. He found her quickly, dancing in a flamboyant, carefree way originally with her father, but she was the one who really danced while her father merely watched and let her whirl around him. It was easy to snatch the girl from him. 

“May I borrow you for a dance with me?” Niall asked the lively girl in the yellow dress and she smiled. 

“Of course.” Her father seemed very satisfied and went over to the buffet so Niall and Lux were alone. He could feel the jealous stares of at least two other princesses and was glad about his choice. Lux didn’t seem like she would mind when he left her again after dancing for a while to get to know others. 

“So,” he said, letting her turn while only holding her hand and making her laugh in delight. “This might be too fast forward, but I didn’t have the impression that you actually came here to marry me.” She laughed again and faced him, calming down with her dancing a bit. 

“You are right there, Prince Niall,” she admitted easily. “I do feel a bit too young to get married and merely saw this as an opportunity to dance and get great food. But if you saw that immediately, what made you come for me? I do feel honoured, of course.” She batted her lashes at him and grinned. He smiled back. 

“You are great to have fun with,” he answered vaguely and was then glad to be broken off by a rather complex series of motions the dance required. 

“Aren’t we all having a party merely to get you married, though?” She asked when they came back together, still stepping back and forth to the music’s rhythm. 

“Well…” 

“You don’t want to get married, do you? I can see it, you just aren’t ready, that’s why you automatically go for those that will tell you no,” she realized. Niall felt found out and that was bad, because it essentially meant that she was right and that the feeling that had been creeping up on him earlier had also been right. He wasn’t ready to get married at all, and there were at least to people of ten in the room that didn’t want to marry him, thus attracting him most, naturally in a platonic way. 

“Thank you,” he said. She grinned at him. 

“Anytime.” 

They danced two more dances and would have stayed together for even longer if it wasn’t for a servant, one of his father’s servants, putting his hands on Niall’s shoulders and gently, but still firmly pulling him away. Maybe they had made it too obvious that they were having fun, not flirting and getting a wedding arranged. Niall shot Lux an apologetic glance. She shrugged and smiled, mouthing something. Niall guessed she was telling him to keep in touch, and he would gladly do so. The servant pulled him over to the head part of the ballroom where his father was still sitting on the throne and left them alone.

“Niall James of Mullingar, you are a prince,” the king hissed and his veins protruded angrily on his neck again. Niall wished that he weren’t close enough to his father to smell the mixture of cold sweat and alcohol that made him want to retch. 

“I am watching you closely,” he threatened. Niall was in trouble. “If I see you dancing one more time with that silly girl in her childish yellow dress and behaving like that, you will get into serious trouble. She won’t marry you.” 

That was kind of the point, but Niall didn’t dare to say his thoughts out loud, which was probably for the better. 

“You will go dance with the princess of Greystones now. Immediately.” Niall swallowed a response and nodded obediently. 

“I have understood, father,” he added quietly to calm his father down, but it didn’t seem to work. His father ignored him and called the servant over. 

“You! Get me something to eat and a drink! At once!” 

Niall hurried away and ran right into the girl that his father had told him to dance with. He forced himself to smile at her. She was truly a beauty, but there was no hint of humour or kindness to her appearance and body language. 

“Princess Eleanor, may I ask for a dance with you?” She squinted at him and then smiled widely. Her rapid changing of temper scared him. 

“It will be an honour,” she answered formally. If royal children learned one thing, it was how to make polite small talk and sugar coat everything. She desperately tried to make conversation while they were dancing, and much to Niall’s dismay, it was a rather slow dance. Not a waltz yet, but definitely too slow to have an appropriate excuse for not talking. 

“I am very glad I can be here today,” she said. Niall scoffed internally. Her words sounded as if she’d learned them by heart. 

“You’ve got a lovely palace and this place is decorated really nicely. I have a weakness for that, the person who did this must have a good taste. Very lovely indeed.” 

“Your dress is nice,” he complimented, feeling bound to say something flattering, but biting his inner cheek afterwards because really, of all witty compliments he could have made and quickly gotten away from this, his brain went with nice? “The colour is impressing,” he added quickly. Eleanor smiled, but only slightly. 

“Thank you.” Niall was glad when the dance was over. He was just about to walk over to the buffet and grab something to eat, maybe talk to Princess Nicola about why she seemed so off, but before he could’ve reached the tables that were loaded with delicious treats, someone with long fingers and long fingernails that delved into his flesh so deeply that it actually hurt grabbed his arm and pulled him aside sharply. 

He first saw the striking red nail polish. His eyes wandered up to the person’s face and sure enough, he was met with matching lipstick, blonde hair and a maniac look in the eyes. Princess Taylor of Dunmore had taken the initiative herself. 

“Dance with me, won’t you, Prince Niall?” She purred. 

Niall started to panic and wanted to say no, wanted to reject her even though she had been invited in his name in the first place and it would be incredibly rude, but this girl actually scared him, and that was not meant in a good way. But then his eyes fell on his father and his father was watching him and Niall couldn’t back away, not with his father staring at him like this with intense disappointment and disgust, so he swallowed his feelings and nodded feebly. 

Dancing was awkward. She was bossy and claimed the leading part, but her movements were abrupt and didn’t always fit the music. Also, she was taller than him and held him firmly in her grasp. He felt like an object with the way she treated him, but he forced himself to go with it and carry on. Taylor didn’t let him go after one dance, but she also didn’t force him to talk and tried to prove that she was the right one. She just stared at him intently and soon, Niall’s cheeks were burning hot and he desperately needed to get out of the situation. 

Taylor wasn’t like Eleanor, he realized. Eleanor had wanted to be with him and she had been determined to win this sick game, but Taylor wasn’t even trying anymore. She believed him to be hers already, and the thought alone pained him so much that it had to show on his face. Taylor overlooked it, though, probably too caught up in her fantasy to see Niall struggling. He stumbled along through the upbeat dance, not quite feeling his feet anymore. 

The girl was absolutely crazy in a scary way and would be better off in some place where she couldn’t be a danger for others. After the second dance, Niall tried to wind out of her grasp as subtly as possible, but she didn’t let go of him. Instead, she pulled him away from the crowd, towards a door at the long side of the ballroom that was opened, presumably for the servants and fresh air. 

“You’re mine,” she whispered darkly when they had left the room, left the feast. Niall couldn’t get free. She was stronger than he’d thought, and she was tougher than the lipstick, the perfectly done nails and the dress would make anyone assume. 

He stumbled along with her, almost falling down and losing the daisy that had been hidden his front pocket in the process. It fell down and lay there, crumbled up and already starting to shrivel, having lost most of its beauty. It was a bad omen. Niall was starting to panic for real now. There was no way that his father hadn’t seen that! 

It hit Niall moments later that he couldn’t count on his father to rescue him. He saw what he wanted to see, and he had seen Niall leaving with a princess that he’d surely consider worthy, why should the others interest him any longer? The king didn’t care about the well-being of other’s, and the least about his son’s. 

She pulled him off to the right and then into the next dark, thick-aired broom closet, where she pressed him against the wall and let the door slam shut. Niall breathed heavily. He was claustrophobic, and a situation like this would have been hell on earth for him already without someone locked in with him, almost strangling him. 

Taylor pressed her lips onto his and forced his mouth open brutally. Niall realized he was being raped, by a girl, by a princess. He was horrified and traumatized already now, but nobody would ever believe him. He hadn’t imagined his first kiss to be like this. Taylor was brutal and ruthless, but even she needed to breathe to survive. 

Niall felt like his lips and the area around his collarbones where she had placed her hands were bruised when she broke the kiss off for the first time and gasped for some air. He reached forward, taking one last chance, and managed to stumble out of the broom closet, out of Taylor’s immediate reach for a second. 

He used his one second and ran. His feet carried him through the well-known corridors and he was glad that he didn’t have to look up because there was lipstick smeared all over his face and tears were running down his cheeks. 

He passed by several people, but until they had realized what was happening, who he was, he was long gone again. It wasn’t until he reached his destination that he realized what place he had been headed for. 

Ahead of him lay the kitchens. They were luckily empty now, the food was all prepared and stored in a room nearer to the ballroom. He snuck in and broke down in between stoves and ovens, abandoned pots and pans and mountains of dirty dishes. 

He was a sobbing mess on the floor in his expensive suit that was ruined by now anyways, completely shutting out his surroundings. It was only logical that he didn’t hear the nearing footsteps and someone gasping in shock. But he felt it when a person lightly touched his shoulder right were Taylors fingernails had left their marks, and scrambled away as quickly as possible in his state. 

“Who are you?” He had meant to sound firm, but the words came out feeble and his voice broke. He was still sobbing and the tears were blurring his vision so that he couldn’t see who had found him in this state. 

“My name is Liam,” the other person said. Niall didn’t know a Liam, and that was odd. If he didn’t always remember every servant’s name always, he at least recognized them. He blinked furiously to get rid of the tears and sat up to save at least some of his dignity. He was still on the cold kitchen floor, but at least he was sitting now and not curled up into a small ball. 

“Can I help you, Prince Niall?” The boy, mysterious Liam, sounded hesitant. 

“N-no, thanks,” Niall answered. 

“I don’t know you,” he blurted out then. “Who are you, Liam?” 

“I’m the new kitchen boy,” Liam answered, crouching down in front of Niall so they were somewhat level-faced and Niall could see his eyes. Those were stunning eyes. Niall forgot to breathe for a moment because he was so captivated by Liam, his eyes, his face, his smile. When his lungs reminded him of his need of oxygen, he drew in a sharp breath. 

“You came for Louise,” he realized. Liam nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Niall said, remembering his good manners through the mantra of Liam, Liam, Liam that a voice in his head was chanting and the chocolatey brown he feared to drown in. Was this what true attraction felt like? Liam smiled in a surprised way and his pimples showed and Niall was smitten. It had only taken two smiles and two sentences to make him fall, fast and hard. 

“It seems like you are really as nice as they say,” he mused. “I’m sorry to look so surprised, but it’s unusual for a prince to be like that. Are you sure that I can’t help you? Do you want to talk?” 

Liam’s concerned question made Niall snap out of a universe where only Liam existed and everything was made of soft brown and sweet smiles, back into reality. He instinctively wrapped his arms around himself at the memory of what had happened only minutes ago. He must look like a wreck. There was lipstick smeared all over his face and dried tears, it was swollen and his eyes were bloodshot. He couldn’t go back into the ballroom like this, it was impossible. Niall sighed and looked at Liam again. 

“I don’t think I can go back in there,” he admitted. “I’d rather not talk about what happened immediately though…” He trailed off. Liam smiled at him encouragingly. 

“That’s okay,” he assured the prince, who didn’t feel very majestic at the very moment. “You can stay here and if you want company, I can stay here to. I was just planning to take a break from the hard work of satisfying the exquisite needs and cravings of ten different kingdoms. Plus, I’m rather good at distracting.” 

Liam was obviously too nice for his own good, but he also seemed to be funny and sensible and Niall felt like he was falling faster with every word that left the other boy’s mouth. The feeling scared and excited him equally. 

“You shouldn’t waste your break on me!” He rushed to say. “It’s your break, after all, you’re not supposed to work during your break! I will be fine.” Liam shook his head with finality. 

“I can choose how I want to spend my break. Just see me as a friend, not as a servant, for a while. And as a friend, I’m going to quickly get food now. You might want to wash that-“ he gestured at the area around Niall’s mouth “-away though. Just a tip. See you in two!” 

And then Niall was alone again, standing in the middle of his palace’s kitchen, ditching a ball that was only held to get him a wife, and quite positively falling for the new kitchen boy. He needed something to drown his feelings in. It seemed like Liam was a mind-reader. 

He got back when Niall had just managed to scrub the lipstick off and splash some cold water into his face, the ruined jacket laying around uselessly on the floor, carrying two big bowls of ice cream and a variety of sickeningly sweet pastries. Niall smiled at him gratefully. 

“You know, Liam, I’ve only known you for like five minutes and I already think you’re an angel,” he teased and grabbed one of the bowls hungrily. Liam bowed down as a joke cheekily. 

“Always there for your needs, Prince Niall.” Niall couldn’t help but laugh. Liam was so captivating and automatically pulling Niall under his charm. 

“What did we say about the being friends while you’re supposed to be taking a break thing? I will have to let you know that I take the well-being of my staff very seriously, even more when I can consider them friends.” Liam smiled softly and grabbed an ice cream for himself. 

“Right. I’ve heard about that.” Niall blushed hard. He should have expected that there was talking about him amongst the servants, but it was weird nevertheless. At least they really seemed to like him. 

“You’re very well-liked by everyone, you know. Many describe you as endearing and the kindest person they’ve ever met, and I can see where they’re coming from.” The compliment didn’t exactly help with Niall’s blush, but it made him feel a lot better. 

“Thank you,” he muttered. “That means a lot to me. Also, you’re not so bad yourself.” There was silence after that, and it was a little bit awkward, but really just a little because they’d just established that there was definitely something that they could build a friendship on. Niall’s fast beating heart suggested something else than friendship, but Niall was being realistic. 

He was a prince. 

He was getting married to a princess, not a random servant. Even though it was a really nice random servant with amazing eyes and a smile that could make him forget about all of his problems immediately. 

“How do you like your work here so far?” Niall asked just to say something, to break the silence that allowed him to think either of Liam, which was kind of bad because he really shouldn’t get too emotionally involved in the matter, or of Taylor and the ball in general, which was even worse because it make him feel guilty and really bad about his decision to not go back. He always ended up a coward. 

“I quite enjoy it,” Liam answered thoughtfully. “I mean, the atmosphere down here is really nice. The people. They like you and they work for you because you treat them well, unlike…” He broke off, suddenly seeming a bit scared. 

“Say it,” Niall said as nonchalantly as possible and shrugged. “My father is an absolute asshole that everyone is frightened to death of.” 

“Well,” Liam said almost defensively. “I wasn’t going to put it that harsh.” 

“He’s giving me ten girls to choose up there,” Niall complained, “and at least three of them don’t even want to marry me. One is absolutely out of her mind, like, scarily crazy, and he doesn’t see it because he doesn’t care about me.” 

He didn’t remember when exactly his attempt at small talk turned into something this personal, but the conversation had escalated quickly. To shut himself up, he shoved a heavily loaded spoon of ice cream into his mouth. Liam made him open up and talk about his own problems too easily. Having said a lot of it out loud, Niall realized how silly he sounded. Liam probably had problems that were a lot worse and now consequently thought Niall was a whiny, spoiled brat. 

“I didn’t mean it to sound like that,” he added with terror in his eyes. “I’m not complaining because I have to choose out of five girls instead of ten because the rest doesn’t fit the criteria! Oh god, I’m just making it worse. I normally don’t go on ranting about my feelings, it just slipped, I didn’t want you to have to deal with me, you probably have a far heavier pack of problems yourself and.” 

He stopped the sentence even though he had wanted to stay more, to express more. Liam didn’t give him a chance to go on talking. 

“You don’t need to explain yourself,” he told Niall and his voice was almost stern. “Everyone has problems and your problems are just as valid and real as everyone else’s, never forget that. Just because someone has it worse doesn’t mean that you can’t suffer from yours. That would be like telling someone that they can’t be happy just because someone else has it better, and I absolutely don’t believe in that.” 

“You’re wise,” Niall choked out, stunned. 

“I once knew someone,” Liam simply stated. Niall was amazed by his modesty, just like he was by each and every single aspect of Liam’s personality. Until now, he seemed to be flawless, but Niall could tell that there was more to Liam, that he was still hiding something that would eventually show that Liam was just human. 

“Anyways,” Liam said in a lighter voice and continued eating his ice cream. They started talking about reading, discovering in the process that they shared their interests of the old legends, but also for the newer technology like light. 

They agreed that there were some serious problems with her world; while all sorts of fancy make-up and robes were available, as much as cooking devices and living comfort, it still wasn’t possible to communicate easily even within a country. Messages took from a few hours to multiple days and had to be written down on paper. 

Sometimes, a rumour was heard that the crazier scientists were experiencing with other ways to even talk to someone who was miles away, but the common belief was that stories like that were nonsense. It couldn’t work, could it? At least not without everyone else listening. And some of the crazier minds that had travelled far spoke of different political systems and called their current lifestyle a monarchy. 

To Niall, it was simply all he knew and had ever known. There was a king, the leader, and there were his subjects. 

Liam was full of knowledge and interesting stories and Niall listened and listened and couldn’t get enough of it. They forgot about everything while they were talking. Liam’s tales changed Niall’s perspective of things and his belief that everything was bound to be the same forever. He had never really been told anything else, but now, whole new worlds were opening up to him and he loved it. 

Hours later, someone walked into the kitchen and Niall and Liam jumped. They were lucky. It was Maura, whose features softened as soon as he realized who she had caught in the act of just sitting around when there was so much work to do. She scolded them nevertheless. 

“Prince Niall, I can’t really tell you to do anything but you’ve got guests and they’re asking for you. One of the princesses already left, so the entire delegacy of the kingdom of Dunmore is gone and nobody knows why. I’m afraid your father is beyond angry. He’s had too much gin, also. We tried swapping it for water, but unfortunately, he noticed, and has been only shouting ever since. And you, Liam, your break has been over for long, but I’ll let it slip as you normally are an exemplary kitchen boy and you obviously had a job to do, even if involved sitting on working surfaces, which is incredibly unsanitary, and eating ice cream. Now both of you out of here!” 

Niall and Liam looked at each other in shock and stumbled out of the kitchen as fast as their feet could take them. In the hallway, Liam burst into laughing. He was a lot more confident than Niall and he also had a lot less to lose, presumably. Niall didn’t laugh. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I almost got you into trouble and I didn’t even tell you why. I won’t bother you anymore now, this was a bad decision anyways.” He didn’t wait for Liam to respond and ran. 

Niall always ran. 

He tried to justify it in front of himself, tried to tell himself that what he did was right because he had complicated so many things already today by putting his own well-being first instead of the other’s. Liam called after him, but Niall didn’t dare to look back. He couldn’t allow himself to become an egoist. 

He would end up being like his father and that was something he couldn’t risk, never. 

His encounter with Liam had been incredibly nice and Liam was smart, sweet and funny, but Niall had disappointed a lot of people already. When he arrived at the ballroom, his legs felt incredibly heavy and sweat from fear was running down his back. The atmosphere in the room was tense and loaded with discomfort, and one look up to the throne explained it all. 

Niall’s father was bright red in the face, waving his fat arms around. He was surrounded by five servants that all had the expression of a frightened rabbit on their face and unsuccessfully tried to calm their intoxicated king down. 

Niall had to minimize the damage that could now be further done. He walked up to Lux, who was standing with the other girl he had meant to talk to, if it hadn’t been for the Taylor incident earlier that he preferred to avoid thinking about. Elizabeth, the tenth candidate. They approached him eagerly when they saw him. 

“Can you explain what’s going on here?” 

“I can, really, but unfortunately not right now, Lux and Elizabeth, right?” The princess with the red dress nodded. 

“Liz,” she said. “Pleasure.” He kind of liked her attitude, a bit sassy and with the eye-rolling kind of humour from what he could tell. 

“I’d be buffed, absolutely delighted to hear more this breath-taking story but we’re kind of having a problem here.” 

“I’ll fix that,” Niall promised. “And I can contact you later.” 

“No marriage intentions?” Liz reassured. 

“I haven’t found out what your reason is yet, but yes, platonic.” 

“Awesome.” 

She turned on her heels and dragged Lux away. The two, despite obviously having personalities comparable to day and night, seemed to get on fabulously. Niall smiled. At least two of the approximately two hundred guests of today were happy. He climbed up the orchestra’s stand. 

“May I ask for your attention?” He called. In an instant, every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on him. He tried really hard to ignore his father’s death stare, but failed miserably. 

“I am very sorry this ball didn’t turn out in the way every one intended it to. I regret my absence, but there was a very unfortunate incident that I needed to fix immediately. It would be best if you went back to your own kingdoms now, but we will of course make this up to you when everything is sorted out. Thank you very much for your patience and your time.” 

He climbed back down the stands as quickly as possible because the stares from all over the room were just too much to bear after everything he had had to process already this day. Then he ran again, this time to his room. He curled up on his bed in the exact same position as a week ago, again waiting for his father to come and beat him up, but a soft knocking at the door that clearly wasn’t his father was the sound that made him snap out of his trance. 

He was sure by a hundred percent that the person at the door wasn’t his father because he would have heard his father’s steps and his heavy breathing and alcohol-influenced slurring long ago. 

“Yes?” He asked feebly. The door opened with a quiet creak and Niall heard someone tip-toeing inside. Then, the door was close again. If it was Taylor who had come after him, he absolutely didn’t care anymore. 

“Niall,” someone whispered, and Niall froze in his defeated pose. 

“It’s Liam.” Niall had known that already before Liam told him. He would never forget this voice. He sat up and looked at Liam with big, round eyes. He was so exhausted. 

“Are you okay?” Liam asked. Niall nodded automatically. 

“Yes, thank you.” They were talking about him again, this was wrong, even though Liam was technically still Niall’s servant and his main job was to take care of Niall. 

“Are you?” Liam nodded as well. “Why shouldn’t I be? I am more worried about you.” 

“You shouldn’t be,” Niall whispered. “This isn’t meant to be about me, I am only a peasant in a really big game of chess!” Liam shook his head in disbelief, but now, Niall was getting angry. He hated getting angry, it reminded him of his father. 

“Yes, Liam! I am not important. I have to make sure that everyone else is okay!” He was still keeping his voice low and was sitting still, but he could feel the dreaded fire in his chest. Liam kept shaking his head. 

“Niall, you don’t need to balance out your father,” he said softly, and with one simple sentence he hit the target right in the middle. Niall’s anger disappeared into thin air and he broke down instead. 

“But who else will be there to do it then? I don’t want to end up like him, Liam, he’s an egoistic bastard and he only cares about himself. I have his temper, Liam, I can feel it, and I can talk about myself for ages and only realize it when it is too late. I don’t want to be like him!” Liam reached out to stroke Niall’s hair. 

“And that’s exactly why you won’t be like him, because even though you easily could follow the easy route, you choose not to every single time. You can choose what you want to be like, Niall, and you have a good heart. You will never be like him, even when you learn to take care of yourself and sometimes put your own needs first.” 

“You don’t, though,” Niall pointed out. “You are here, you spent your break on me already and now you’re missing out on sleep because you are listening to me and my silly problems.” Liam smiled. 

“Sometimes, Niall, not always. I can totally afford that right now and it doesn’t harm me in any way. Plus, who said that my visit here wasn’t totally selfish after all? What if I just wanted to see the gorgeous prince I had the luck to spend my afternoon with again? Really, Niall, I was quite lonely for the past week and enjoy talking to you loads.” 

Niall breathed deeply. His mind was processing Liam’s little speech. What if he was right after all? Niall couldn’t deny that he was his father’s son and that he had the same tendencies, but he also was himself and he made his own choices. Right? He wasn’t completely convinced, but Liam had definitely managed to cheer him up and distract him once again. 

“Gorgeous?” He echoed. Liam snickered. 

“Oh, of course that would be the only word you picked up from that! I tried to share some helpful advice with you, and you decide to go for the compliments! You really are, though. Gorgeous, I mean.” He blushed. 

Niall couldn’t see why someone with Liam’s looks would think that Niall was gorgeous. He had changed out of his kitchen whites, naturally, and was wearing rather tight trousers and a plaid shirt that hugged his biceps very advantageously. The simple clothing flattered him and his sporty, muscular figure. Niall shouldn’t even get started on his eyes, or he would be thinking about nothing else for hours. 

“Thanks, I guess,” he muttered, trying and failing not to stare too obviously. A vigorous blush crept onto his face. “You are really fit.” Liam giggled. 

“Thanks, I guess.” 

“And I love your eyes,” Niall added. He now allowed himself to stare into them and get lost. “This is like all of those legends,” he muttered. Liam cocked an eyebrow and looked at Niall questioningly. The blonde twisted his sheets between his fingers uncomfortably, already regretting his words. 

“Specify,” Liam pleaded. 

“Our meeting; it’s just like all those legends except that there’s less blood.” 

“I’m glad about that,” Liam commented under his breath but he shut up again when he saw that Niall hadn’t really been finished. “Sorry. Continue, please.” 

“It’s all so cheesy and it feels weird but also weirdly right at the same time,” Niall complained, stumbling over his words. “You saved me today, Liam, the prince in distress, without questioning it for a second. You’re like my knight in shining armour, don’t laugh at me this is hard to express and the point is… The point is that I think I’m already falling for you now.” 

Niall didn’t dare to look at Liam and watch his reaction. He only heard Liam’s sharp intake of breath and knew that he had gone too far. His heart dropped. But then, he felt Liam’s fingers gently under his chin, lifting his head up. Niall’s eyes were shining bright with the nearing teeth, but Liam’s were shining bright like stars. 

“Niall,” Liam whispered. And the next thing Niall felt were Liam’s soft lips on his and he only saw the sky full of stars behind his closed eyelids and felt the entire world burning under his fingertips. They broke apart what could have been seconds later or hours for all Niall knew. 

“Wow,” Niall breathed. 

“Wow,” Liam echoed. He leaned his forehead against Niall’s and caressed his cheek. Niall put his arms around Liam’s voice and pulled them closer together. 

“I like my life being like a legend,” Liam said and laughed lightly. Niall laughed along. 

“It’s not that bad,” he teased. “Do you realize what an effect you have on me?” He didn’t get to hear the answer, because all of a sudden, a very familiar noise made his way to the front of Niall’s mind. Heavy, slow steps and even heavier breathing from very near his door, a lot too near already. 

How could he have not heard it until now? He put his hands on Liam’s mouth to prevent the other from making any noise, and signalized him to just listen. Liam’s eyes went wide when he, too, heard the sound and quickly realized what, or rather who, caused it. It wasn’t hard to guess with the terrified expression on Niall’s face. Only one could make his mouth go slack and his eyes widen like that. 

“Hide,” Niall hissed. “Liam, you have to hide!” 

Liam obeyed immediately, scrambling up from the bed as silently as possible and scurried into Niall’s big wardrobe. He was gone and Niall was in his bed in his usual position, trying to control himself and not shiver. He didn’t want to give himself away, his panic that was stronger than usually and his senses far more alert after the kiss. 

He tried to get into his trance, but he wasn’t able to while Liam was hiding in his wardrobe only metres away. He was bound to hear everything, every slap and every cry that Niall wasn’t able to hold back, and that only added to Niall’s torture, because with that, it was Liam’s as well. There was no way to escape, though. 

The door creaked open for the second time this evening already, but this time, the footsteps that entered Niall’s room were heavy. He grabbed the sheets subtly and buried his face in his pillow while his father took out the belt and gathered his breath with a rattling sound. Niall could already feel the pain before it was actually there. 

It took long this night, longer even then usually, and every second felt twice as long with Liam in the wardrobe. Niall’s back burned and ached, but he didn’t allow himself a single sound. When it was over, his father didn’t acknowledge him at all just like he always did and left without a word or a single hint beforehand. 

The door was opened with a creaking noise, and fell shut with a soft thump. Niall listened to the sound of the heavy footsteps getting quieter and quieter until it was totally silent. Only then, he allowed himself to breathe properly again in the pitch black room. 

He heard Liam shuffling around in the wardrobe, finding his way out, but he didn’t move a muscle, too worn out and afraid of the pain that was unavoidable. A few seconds later, Liam pushed the door of the wardrobe open and stumbled out. Niall felt the mattress move when Liam sat down on the edge of his bed. 

“Niall,” he breathed out, too shocked, and too horrified, to use his voice. “Oh, Niall. I’m so sorry.” Niall laughed humourlessly. It hurt. 

“I’m sorry that you had to witness this,” he murmured. Even speaking hurt so much that he’d rather stop it. Liam touched the back of his head comfortingly, carefully sparing his wounded back. 

“It is you who is hurt,” he murmured and Niall felt him shift. “Is it okay if I light up a candle?” 

“Yeah,” Niall breathed. “Ow.” Liam laughed. 

“Do you even realize how selfless you are? You must be in so much pain, you’ve just been tortured for ages and everything you say is ow? Do you even realize?” His laugh didn’t sound amused, but desperate and disbelieving. Liam found a match and a candle, and the room was suddenly lit. 

“Oh my god, Niall, this is seriously bad.” 

“Bet some of it is old,” Niall muttered, suddenly very tired. He would have fallen dead asleep if it weren’t for the almost unbearable pain. 

“It’s bleeding, Niall,” Liam said panicky. “And it’s all black and blue and blue and green and yellow and there are scars all over it. We need to disinfect this, it’s a miracle that you don’t have infections all over it but those scars actually look like they healed okay.” 

Niall didn’t mention the fever he was quite positive he’d had after the last time. He was just glad that someone was there to look at his back for once, assuring him that it was okay, because he had of course been afraid of an infected wound there, but never dared to look. 

“Don’t… leave me alone,” Niall managed to get out in his stage of nearly passing out. He could hear Liam’s efforts to calm down. 

“No, no, of course not, I’ll stay here. Do you have anything to disinfect this?” 

“Maybe… bathroom,” Niall murmured. His pronunciation got less clear with every word, and his sentences got shorter every time he spoke, but Liam still got the message and hurried into the bathroom. 

Niall vaguely heard him rummaging through the stuff that was kept there and then letting out a triumphant sound. Seconds later, Niall could hear running water and then Liam announced that he was back with a wet towel and some sanitary stuff. 

“This is probably going to hurt,” he warned. 

“’S hardly worse,” Niall murmured. Without further warning, Liam started cleaning his back with the towel. Niall wanted to cry out loud because of the pain but he just gritted his teeth and stayed silent. 

“You’re doing so well, Niall, so well,” Liam praised him quietly. Somehow, Niall could tell from his voice that this hurt him almost as much as it hurt Niall. 

“I’m done with the cleaning,” Liam said after a while. 

“See, now there was also blood in our legend,” Niall said in an attempt to light the mood. Liam did laugh, but it sounded like he didn’t want to. 

“Your jokes are terrible when you’re this tired,” he teased. 

“Think I can live with that,” Niall decided. Liam didn’t answer. He was shifting around on the bed, probably preparing the disinfecting liquid. Suddenly, Niall’s back was on fire. The pain was so intense that he couldn’t hold himself back this time, not without a warning. He cried out loudly and the cry turned into a sob halfway through. 

“Liam, it hurts,” he whined. Liam’s hand was touching his hair again. 

“I know, but it’s over now. You can go to sleep Niall, I’ll watch out for you.” 

Liam didn’t have to tell him twice. With the pain rapidly easing to an uncomfortable, but not unbearable sting, Niall managed to drift off to sleep within minutes. He felt safe when Liam was with him, which was probably the reason why he actually managed to sleep for the rest of the night and rest properly. When he woke up the next morning, he felt kind of gross and his back still hurt, but he was also relaxed. 

He turned his head to the left and noticed Liam curled up beside him on the big bed. Niall smiled unintentionally. The other one had kept his promise and stayed. Niall knew that this time, he couldn’t just stay in bed for multiple days, he’d have to get up, wear his biggest shirt and just hope that none of today’s task would require him to move more than absolutely he necessary. 

His clock read nine and he rubbed his eyes groggily. He was really sorry about having to wake Liam, but unlike him, the boy sleeping next to him had a job to do and also a job to lose if he didn’t show up, so Niall started to wake him up by tickling him gently. Liam groaned and demonstratively turned around so Niall was only facing his bed. The blonde chuckled to himself. 

“I get it, you don’t want to get up and I’m also really, really sorry to wake you but it’s nine in the morning and your working hours start at half past eight if I’m not mistaken.” 

“Oh damn!” Liam suddenly sat up bolt upright, going from zero to hundred in seconds. “Thanks, Niall! I have to hurry, can’t really afford skipping work anymore!” 

He stumbled around in the room, obviously still half sleeping, pulling on his trousers that he must’ve taken off at some point to sleep more comfortably and his shoes and fixing his hair sloppily to make it look at least styled messily and not totally like the bed hair it was. He did find the time, or rather just took it, to look at Niall with a serious expression. 

“Are you alright?” Niall, who had been amusedly watching Liam struggling, nodded. 

“I’ll be fine. Sore, but better than normally thanks to you.” Liam smiled with worried eyes. 

“I’ll see you later!” He called and then left. Niall grinned and got up himself. He took his time to get ready, carefully avoiding any quick movements that might cause the cuts on his back to open again. Grimacing at himself, he examined the bruises around his collarbones. The Taylor incident that had practically been the cause of every single one of yesterday’s events was so far away that Niall wondered how that much could have fit into one single day. 

He sighed and readjusted the big, dark blue shirt so that it covered every mark on his upper body, went through his fringe with damp hands twice and then left the bathroom again. Not really wanting to stay in his room because he had just spent an entire week in there, Niall headed outside with the intention to pay the gardens and Ed a visit and make a new flower crown because he was seriously missing them. He had barely made it a few steps away from his room though when he almost collided with a servant that somehow managed to dodge him in the very last millisecond. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. The servant seemed stressed, but he looked relieved when he realized who he had almost run into. 

“No, I am, Prince Niall,” he objected. “I was looking for you. Your father wants to see you immediately.” 

Niall barely managed a thank you. What did his father want to see him for already now? With heavy steps, Niall turned around and headed to his father. The king was sitting in his throne, fat wobbling out everywhere as usually. He seemed to be sober, which shouldn’t be a thing you even had to think about at half past nine in the morning before even having breakfast, but Niall was glad. 

“You wanted to see me, father?” 

“Yes,” his father affirmed. He didn’t mention the former night’s events at all. He didn’t even look at Niall to check whether he was okay or not. 

“I will need your choice by dinner today, or else I will choose for you,” he announced without ostentation and then proceeded to yell at his servants as if he had already forgotten about his biological son’s presence while Niall’s world crumpled into pieces. He turned around as majestically as possible with a hurting back and left with only one person in his mind. 

He needed to find Liam. That wasn’t too hard. He found him in the kitchens, now wearing his kitchen whites and looking all professional while chopping up sausages. The smell of freshly baked goods made Niall realize that he still hadn’t had any breakfast. He snatched a warm croissant from a platter and downed it in two bites before he went to talk to Liam. 

“Do you have a moment?” He pleaded. Liam looked up at him, stopping in the middle of his movements, only half of his work done. “It’s urgent, I really wouldn’t interrupt you,” Niall added sheepishly. Liam nodded and looked around the busy kitchen. 

“I think they can spare me for another mo’,” he sighed. “Are you hurt?” Niall shook his head. 

“It’s not that, it’s just… I talked to my father and he wants me to decide who of the girls from yesterday I am going to marry. By dinner today. Or else I want get to choose anymore.” He sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t want to marry any of them, Liam!” 

“I know, Niall,” Liam answered softly. “Right, this is a problem. Try thinking about it differently. Who would be the most logical to choose? Who can you talk to, did you maybe get along well with someone? I can see Maura coming over here and she’s my boss, but we can both think about it and then talk it out when I’m on break later!” 

“Okay,” Niall agreed. He had a nauseous feeling, but he knew that Liam couldn’t help him right now. The kitchen boy had just begun to work on his sausages again when Maura came up to them. 

“Prince Niall, as much as this is your palace, I’m in charge of this kitchen and I won’t have you distracting my staff!” Niall smiled at her apologetically and winked. 

“I’ll be gone faster than you can say my name, just grabbing some food,” he promised and reached for the nearest available thing that he could take with him effortlessly. It was only a banana, but still better than nothing. 

Then he walked out of the kitchen as fast as possible with his injuries and ended up in the garden for the first time in longer than a week. Surrounded by beautiful flowers and fresh air was surely the best place to think. He walked along the paths slowly, stopping every now and then, and considered what Liam had told him. 

He had gotten along well with Lux, obviously. She was the only one he had really talked to, apart from Eleanor, and Eleanor was absolutely out of question. But his father had seen and observed him and Lux together, noticing that they didn’t have anything serious going on. If he pretended to choose Lux, his father would definitely notice the lie. 

But if he couldn’t choose Lux… When it hit him, he wanted to slap himself. It was obvious, really. 

He needed to contact Liz, and he needed to be quick. The kingdom of Oldcastle was luckily only two hours from the palace of Mullingar on horseback. With new hope, Niall picked up a quicker pace an entered the royal horse stable soon after. He was greeted by a servant immediately. 

“Prince Niall, it’s great to see you again! How can I help you? Do you need a horse?” 

“Good morning, Paul,” Niall greeted. “No, I don’t want a horse for myself, but can you spare one of your people? I need to send a letter to Oldcastle immediately, it’s really urgent.” 

“Sure, Prince Niall,” the head of the stables said. “You can get Harry, he’s free right now and he’s good with private things.” He said those last words with a wink, and Niall smiled at him gratefully. 

“Thanks a lot, Paul,” he sighed in relief and started to scribble down in his notebook what he needed Liz to know so that she was prepared. 

“Hi Liz,” he muttered to himself. “What I need to tell you will seem weird at first, but I ask you to at least consider it because you would be doing me an immense favour. My father wants me to marry someone and make a choice by today in the evening, but I have someone else that I really like and I don’t want to marry anyone just yet. Still, my father forces me to choose or else he will choose for me, and I’ll probably end up with Eleanor or even Taylor. As the only other person that I talked to and that didn’t desperately want to marry me was Lux and my father has unfortunately seen us together, you are my only option. This letter is a mess, but I had to rush so excuse me.” 

He scoffed quietly as he examined what he had written already, but he didn’t have the time right now to write a proper letter on fine paper with a wax seal and all the polite flowery phrases that were the standard. 

“Please answer at once and send your response back with Harry (the one who gave you this). This agreement is only temporary and we will find a way out of the actual wedding later on, I promise. I hope you’re fine, by the way, and I’d love to know why exactly you knew you didn’t want to marry me right from the beginning without even letting me try first! Yours, Niall.” 

He added his full name and title in brackets, ripped the page out of his notebook though it cost him quite an effort, folded I up and wrote “Princess Elizabeth of the kingdom of Oldcastle” on the front. Harry was already waiting for him to finish and took the improvised letter at once. 

“I would like you to treat this discreetly,” Niall requested and Harry nodded solemnly. 

“Of course, Prince Niall.” 

“You ride there as quickly as possible, make sure the princess and no one else gets the letter, then wait for her answer and afterwards return on the direct route. Have you understood?” Harry nodded again. 

Niall smiled and felt a load falling off his mind. He watched Harry leaving through the garden entrance gate. The only thing that was left to do was wait and rest for a while, because now that the first shock was over and Niall started to calm down, his back hurt badly. 

His walk back to the palace took a lot of time because he had to stop and catch his breath every now and then. He had just lain down on the grass right beside the kitchen entrance when Liam stormed out. 

“Niall?” 

“I’m here!” Niall called. He really didn’t want to get up now. Liam came to sit down next to him. 

“Are you okay? Is it worse?” He asked worriedly. Niall couldn’t blame him, his position was rather weird but it was comfortable so screw it. 

“I’m alright,” he assured Liam. “Just tired from walking, really.” 

“I couldn’t think of a solution,” Liam confessed and teared his hair in distress. 

“I could,” Niall grinned. He sat up carefully to face Liam and told him everything he had done. 

“That’s great,” Liam exclaimed. 

“I hope it works out,” Niall said thoughtfully. Liam smiled, looked around and then quickly leaned in to peck at Niall’s lips. 

“I mean,” Niall mused, “it’s of course rubbish to get a fake girlfriend. I hate social constructions and all that shit aristocracy stuff, I hate my father! But having to keep a secret for a while is sure better than not being with you at all.” 

“Aw,” Liam cooed. “I better get back to work though.” Niall lay back down. 

“I’m a resting rebel,” he announced and yawned. Liam laughed and ruffled the blonde’s hair teasingly. 

“Very impressive, I’m so wowed. See you!” Niall scoffed at the sarcasm, but nobody was there to hear anymore. He got bored just lying around after a while so he stood up and went to finally make that flower crown that had been his original plan for the day. Making a real flower crown wasn’t that easy. Niall had perfected his braiding skills over the years, but there were still the perfect daisies to find and then braid together so they wouldn’t fall apart again. The task took up his entire focus and the normalness of it relaxed him. He was a lot more at peace when the crown was finished and he could put it on his hair. 

“Sweet,” Liam commented when Niall walked into the kitchens. He was hungry. “That suits you.” 

“It better should,” Niall half joked. “You haven’t seen that yet, but normally I always wear them. Food, please.” 

“Of course,” Liam answered and rolled his eyes, but hastily added: “Prince Niall.” There were others in the kitchen and some of the senior staff were already looking at him indignantly. Niall caught up quickly. They continued their conversation in a far more professional way, constantly winking and sneaking grins at each other. 

Niall was about to leave the kitchen because he really had bailed out the time he could stay there inconspicuously when Harry from the stables entered it. Niall guided him outside before the workers in the kitchen could complain about being distracted all the time. 

“Did you get a letter?” 

“Yes, Prince Niall,” Harry answered. “They weren’t too happy about me there at first, the princess least, but she laughed when she read the letter. I’ve got the answer here.” He handed a piece of paper to Niall who took it eagerly. 

“Thanks a lot, Harry. You are free for the rest of the day now, you’ve done me a big favour.” 

“’S my job, Prince Niall,” Harry just shrugged. He mounted his horse again and left for the stables. Niall unfolded the paper and read what Princess Elizabeth had written. He had to admit that her handwriting was quite a lot better than his. 

“Niall, you said you’d contact us but of course I thought that it would be rather an invitation for tea than something like this. I’m impressed. This is exciting, though it probably isn’t that exciting for you and that’s why I’m not going to tease you any longer. Yes, I am up for the job – under a few conditions.” 

Niall let out a breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding before and allowed himself to cheer loudly for a moment before he continued reading. 

“Firstly, our relationship will be faked not only for your people, but also for mine. I must admit that I hadn’t even thought of something like this yet, but it is quite brilliant. Secondly, I expect a bunch of flowers from your beautiful gardens now and then, and thirdly, I will have to inform you that I am a very proud lesbian and should this be a subterfuge, you must know that you are never going to be able to woo me ever. Understood? If you agree with all of that, don’t send your poor servant back to me. I’ll expect to hear from your father. Greetings, Liz.” 

He laughed. Even in her letter, her sassy personality showed. He hadn’t expected their problems to be so similar, both of them having a significant other that their parents didn’t approve of, but he was glad that she was up for the stunt. If his back wasn’t still hurting horribly when he made a bad move, he would run through the palace and hug every person that crossed his path to share and spread his happiness. 

Instead, he chose to go and see his father immediately. He left his flower crown outside. Trying really hard not to jump with every step because he knew that he wouldn’t be happy with that in hindsight (back-sight, literally), he entered the palace and limited himself to smiling brightly at everyone. His smile dropped the moment he saw his father though. 

He seemed to get uglier, redder and fatter with every day. Niall knew that that meant at least that he wouldn’t live much longer, but for now, his temper that got worse with every day only scared everyone around him. 

“I SAID I WANTED GIN!” His father roared. “HOW DARE YOU BRING ME WATER?” The poor servant visibly shrank in front of Niall’s eyes and back away as fast as he could. The king threw the glass at him with the raw force of his rage and it only missed his face by millimetres. “USELESS LITTLE SHITS!” Niall tried to back away silently, but his father spotted him and squinted his eyes that were already small because of all the fat around them. 

“Son,” he scoffed and spit out. “What do you want?” 

“I’ve chosen, father,” Niall answered. His voice didn’t break and he was proud of that. “My future wife will be Princess Elizabeth of the kingdom of Oldcastle.” 

His father’s triple chin fell and his mouth hung wide open. 

“What?” 

“You heard me,” Niall said. “I chose Princess Elizabeth as my future wife.” 

“You can’t-“

“You said I was supposed to choose, and so I did,” Niall insisted. His father’s eyes narrowed more, but Niall saw that he had realized his defeat. 

“Well then, I demand she lives here for four weeks to prove that she’s worthy and then the wedding will be arranged.” Niall swallowed hard. Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time, but he couldn’t let his doubts show. 

“Now get out of my eyes,” his father hissed. “AND YOU GET MY GIN!” 

Niall didn’t need to be told twice. Liam was awaiting him in the kitchen. He only raised an eyebrow, but Niall got the question and nodded. Yes, everything was fine. He signalized Liam that he was going to his room to get some more rest and feel asleep seconds after lying down on his front. By the afternoon of the next day, Liz had arrived with four suitcases full of things and a sour expression for Niall. 

“You didn’t tell me that I had to live here, I have a girlfriend at my palace!” Niall lifted his hands helplessly. 

“I didn’t know before!” She only scoffed. They were alone in Niall’s room. Niall was sitting on the edge of his bed, whereas Liz was pacing the room furiously. 

“This wasn’t part of the plan,” she complained. Niall knew that she was only concealing her sadness with the anger, but he didn’t talk to her about it. They weren’t quite friends yet. 

“And who is your special someone?” She finally asked after a long time of silence. Her walking got slower. 

“He works in the kitchens,” Niall answered vaguely. 

“A servant,” Liz muttered. “Oh why do I know that feeling so damn well?” The laugh that followed her question was bitter. 

“We can only make the best of this situation,” Niall said, trying to cheer her up. She sighed and fell down next to him. 

“I guess so. While we are talking about the situation. What do you want me to act like? Your actual girlfriend? Or are we just marrying because it happens to be convenient? Shall we avoid your father or does he have to see how lovey-dovey we are?” Niall hadn’t thought about those questions much before. 

“Avoid him, I guess. I think the actual girlfriend would convince him most.” Liz only nodded. 

“Okay, I suppose. This is really awkward.” Niall silently agreed with her. They sat without talking for a while until it seemed to become too much to bear for Liz. 

“I can’t stand not doing anything!” She complained. “Take me for a walk, show me around. Unless I am very much mistaken and my memory is wrong, there was something about those famous flowers in your gardens in our agreement.” Niall grinned at her bossy attitude. 

“Aye, Sir,” he teased, but stood up nevertheless. A distraction, having a concrete plan, would also do him good. The longer they walked, the less awkward it got, and Niall enjoyed himself more and more with every minute passing. 

They passed by the daisies (“This is where you get the flowers for your flower crowns from!”) and the fence (“And those women are there all the time? Don’t they get bored?”). Liz demanded to see the stables (“I need to that servant with the curls again, they were so long, I need to ask him what he uses for his hair!”) and then talk to Ed (“Who is your gardener? He does an amazing job, I want to compliment him.”). 

All in all, she was good company, funny and smart. If she wasn’t a lesbian and made sure that Niall remembered that every few minutes and if Niall wasn’t so absolutely gone for Liam, he could actually picture himself spending his life with her, but the two obstacles were not quite easy to overcome and neither of them desired to. 

They came back to the palace in the evening in a great mood and with rosy cheeks when the sun was already setting, exactly at the right time to eat a dreaded dinner with the king. Having to change, they separated at the entrance and met again ten minutes later in front of the big dining room that Niall and his father had last used years ago. 

They never ate together. The king ate all day anyway, and Niall mostly ate in the kitchen or his own room. Sitting at a table all alone was depressing, and his father couldn’t catch him eating with the servants, that would be a catastrophe. This meal was the first they actually had together in a very long time and the atmosphere was so tense that Niall had the impression that if he tried, he would be able to cut the air with a knife so thick was it. 

His father’s manners were practically non-existing and his way of eating was so nasty that Niall himself had to force his food down his throat and almost gagged. His father watched them closely, the expression on his face suspicious and quizzical. 

“So you actually found someone,” he spit at Niall, and the expression spit was to be understood literally. Niall could feel little pieces of his father’s food and sprays of his saliva hit his face. He put his own fork down. There was no way he could eat like this. 

“You are such a failure, I didn’t expect you to.” Niall had known that his father was mad and cared about nobody and nothing, but he hadn’t known that he was actually this mad. They had a guest, after all, but apart from staring at her breasts without even trying to hide his lustful stare, he hadn’t acknowledged her at all. Niall’s anger was boiling. His father just didn’t care. 

For all he knew, his son was in a relationship with this girl and intended to spend his entire life with her, and all he did were horrible things that would scare lots of people away. Liz was tough, luckily, tougher than many other girls, especially princesses, and she naturally wasn’t emotionally involved. Their relationship was only pretence, after all. 

“Of course this doesn’t mean that you are less of a failure.” There was an unspoken threat in the subtext that only Niall could possibly understand and no one else of the present persons. “Or that I approve of your choice.” Niall decided he had enough. 

“Stop it, father,” he said. He didn’t raise his voice unlike his father who was almost shouting, but the suppressed anger was easy to hear. “We have heard enough. Come on, Elizabeth.” He stood up and left the room with fast steps before his father’s brain, its work slowed down due to the alcohol in his blood, could process what he meant and come up with a reaction. Liz was quick to follow. She shuddered and crossed her arms over her breasts while they were practically fleeing. They weren’t fast enough to miss the roar of anger that his father let out. 

“That was scary, even for me,” she confessed in a tiny voice. “I’m not jealous of your boy, that’s for sure. Will it be okay if I go to my room now? I’ve kind of lost my appetite and I feel like being alone for a while.” 

“Of course,” Niall answered at once. “Take your time, and thank you for putting up with this.” Liz gave him a feeble smile and headed off. Niall turned. He needed to get away from the building. Liam was unfortunately still working. He had volunteered to take an extra shift to make up for all the times he had missed in the past days, so Niall went to take a walk in the gardens all alone. 

He’d at least be able to sort out the mess in his mind when he was alone. His feet carried him to the fence automatically. At this time in the evening, the women had obviously gone home to their families, and everything was silent. Niall wandered aimlessly, completely lost in his thoughts, and didn’t notice the shadow that followed him right behind the fence until the person spoke to him. 

“Prince Niall.” The familiar voice that he had never wanted to hear again made him jump and back away, staring with a horrified expression at the shadow’s outlines in the dim twilight. He suddenly felt the pain around his collarbones again that had been gone already just because of the voice before he could even see the person that the voice belonged to. Taylor had pressed her hands and her face to the fence and laughed like a maniac. 

“You weren’t expecting me, were you? Oh, but I have been watching you…” Niall didn’t open his mouth. A scream was the only sound that would come out of it, and he didn’t want to lower his guard and show his vulnerability. 

“You don’t seem too happy for someone who is getting married! And your future wife is such a lovely girl, isn’t she? Too bad that princesses aren’t your type. You rather go for the servants, don’t you? But you don’t realize that you already belong to me.” 

Niall’s breathing stopped. His heart skipped a beat. Taylor knew, and she was a psychopath, that was the only fitting word. 

“That’s not true,” Niall choked out. Nobody could know, nobody could know. “You are seeing things, Taylor. I will never belong to you. It is not Liz’s fault that you’ve got a problem, she is a lovely girl and I am very happy to marry her soon. Give up and go home!” 

He wanted to sound confident and say those last words like a command, but they ended up sounding like a plea. Taylor laughed again and the psychopathic, hysterical sound send an icy shiver down Niall’s spine. 

“I have no proof,” she sing-sang, “but you only have to wait, I will find out everything eventually, every single of your secrets, and then you will have no other choice than to be mine…” With that threat she disappeared into the shadows again and had long vanished when Niall finally managed to calm down. 

The next he knew was that he was running towards the light of the palace again, absolutely terrified. He looked back over his shoulder every few seconds to see whether Taylor was following, but he couldn’t see her. He was totally out of breath when he finally reached the safety of the lit lawn directly in front of the palace. His back stung, but he didn’t pay attention to it. 

He needed to get inside and curl up on his bed. He had underwent too much horror by far for one evening, the only thing he craved was a bit of well-deserved rest. He could hear the clangour of the dinnerware from the kitchen, which had to mean that Liam was still working, so he made his way up to his room and lay down all alone. It seemed to take him forever, but he eventually drifted off into a restless sleep. 

The next few days went surprisingly well, so well that Niall had a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that intensified with every hour of peace. He met in secret with Liam, he pretended to be in a romantic relationship with Liz, they sometimes did stuff all together and generally avoided his father as much as possible. Taylor didn’t show up again, but Niall didn’t trust the silence and was extra careful. 

His nerves were so strained that he was constantly jumpy. Liam didn’t fail to notice and tried to talk to Niall about it at least three times a day, but Niall always brushed it off. There was no need for even more people to get worried when there was nothing that could be done anyways. Niall wasn’t the only one who was tense. Liz got more and more restless, too, fidgeting all the time. Her remarks got meaner. It was obvious to anyone who spent time with her that something was bothering her, so Niall went and asked her what was up. 

“It’s just,” she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. “I miss my girlfriend, you know? I haven’t seen her or just heard from her in over a week!” Niall internally scolded himself. How could he not have thought of that? While he got to see Liam every day and even have at least a few minutes with him alone, Liz’s actual relationship suffered far more from their charade than his. He had only thought of his own well-being, again, and forgotten about her feelings. 

“I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed. “I should have thought of this, of course you want to see your girlfriend. Go see her, right now, I’ll make something up to tell anyone who asks. You’re not a prisoner here, you’re my guest, and it’s been incredibly selfish of me to keep you here this long anyways.” 

“It’s not your fault, and are you sure that it’s a good idea for me to leave?” She muttered sceptically, but despite her words, Niall could see her eyes lighting up and that was worth the risqué operation. 

“It is,” he insisted vehemently, “and I’m sure.” 

“Well, in that case…” Her fidgeting got even worse, but now, it was from positive excitement and anticipation. Niall laughed over his queasy feeling. 

“Just go already!” 

“Thanks,” she yelled, already on her way out, and blew him a kiss through the air. Niall chuckled to himself and went to the kitchens. Maybe he could get Liam out of there and they could do something together, they hadn’t spent more than ten minutes alone (while both of them were awake) in the past three days. 

Liam could indeed finish his work quickly and then somehow charmed Maura into letting him off early with his irresistible puppy eyes. Niall couldn’t blame her, really. They left the palace together, Liam humming happily. The sun shone brightly that day and it was warm, but with a nice breeze so not so hot that it was impossible to be outside. 

“I haven’t had you to myself in a while,” Liam said when they had already brought quite some distance between themselves and the palace. 

“I can second that statement,” Niall said and rolled his eyes. “This is more complicated than I’d thought, but we’re still well off.” Liam raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Liz has gone to see her girlfriend for today,” Niall explained. “I hadn’t even thought of how hard this must be for them, they can’t even see each other!”   
Liam sighed and kicked a pebble with his right foot. It hit a bigger pebble a few metres further down the path with a soft clonk and stopped. The bigger pebble didn’t move at all, and Niall all of sudden felt sorry for the small pebble that would always stay small and be oppressed by the bigger ones. 

“Silly me,” he muttered. 

“What?” 

“Pebbles don’t even have feelings.” 

“Um, that’s kind of obvious?” Liam seemed to seriously question Niall’s mental health by now and the blonde couldn’t blame him. He didn’t bother to explain his thoughts. 

“Never mind.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. 

“Why is everything so complicated?” Niall suddenly whined and stopped. “Who even cares that you aren’t aristocratic? Because I don’t. And Liz doesn’t. And Lux wouldn’t. You’ve seen my blood, and it is red just like yours.” 

“Hey, for all you know mine could be green,” Liam joked half-heartedly. Niall couldn’t help but grin. 

“That was a really, really bad one, Liam. It was so bad that it made me laugh again, but at you because you’re stupid.” He paused. “See, that’s what people should care for. Who is stupid and who isn’t.” 

“I’m not even stupid!” Liam protested. “Do I need to remind you of the time you told me how wise I was?” Niall just flipped him off. 

“Who is an asshole and who isn’t, for crying out loud! But not for stuff I can’t even choose! Like, neither did I choose to be born as a prince, nor did you choose not to! We didn’t choose to be boys and Liz didn’t choose to be a girl! But my father chose to be an alcoholic and an asshole and an abuser. He chose all of that, and yet there are people worshipping him just because he happens to be the king. You know what, I hate this effing system.” 

They had stopped walking. Niall was gesturing violently and his voice had gradually increased in its volume so that he was almost shouting by the time he finished his rant. 

“Breathe, Niall,” Liam interrupted him softly. “I don’t want to have to reanimate you, and your face is turning all blue.” 

“Now it effing is,” Niall muttered darkly, but the words had done the trick and he calmed down. Liam carefully linked his left hand with Niall’s right one and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“Don’t tell me you think your jokes are the slightest bit better than mine,” he teased to lighten the mood from funeral mood to normal bad mood. “But jokes aside, you’re right. There is something wrong with our systems. But I’ve heard stories of some countries once where we’d have even other problems with our relationship because they think it’s sick when two boys are together.” 

“But that’s just the same bullshit!” Niall exclaimed angrily. “When will everyone finally realize that you just can choose who you love? Just like you can’t choose what colour your eyes are? Just like you can’t choose if you are born aristocratic or not?” 

“You love me?” Liam repeated with wide eyes. 

“Don’t look so staggered,” Niall grumbled. “Of course that would be the only thing you picked up from that!” Liam pulled him close and pressed their lips together firmly. Both were panting when they separated again. 

“I love you too,” Liam gasped. “And, by the way, I know I am a genius, really, but you don’t have to quote me all the time, even though I must admit it’s quite flattering.” 

He smiled cheekily while Niall’s cheeks turned bright red. 

“I don’t quote you all the time!” He tried to protest, but they both knew that he was fighting a lost battle. It wasn’t his fault that Liam’s words seemed to be fixed in his memory, was it? No. 

“I don’t even care,” he moaned. His eyes were sparkling with happiness, just like Liam’s, he didn’t care about anything but Liam and love at that moment. 

“Can you say it again?” He pleaded and started walking again, bouncing up and down in excitement with every step. 

“What, that I am a genius?” Liam teased cockily. Niall proved his maturity and stuck his tongue out at the smirking boy. 

“Fine, I don’t love you anymore.” 

“Well, we can’t allow that,” Liam muttered and pulled Niall close to join their lips yet again. This kiss was soft and sweet and addictive. 

“You’ll be the death of me some day,” Niall mumbled finally with his forehead leaning against Liam’s. Liam smiled. “Well…” 

“And I’ll pull you with me because we will go down together or not at all,” Niall added. 

“Now that was cheesy!” Liam exclaimed and leaned back. 

“But you liked it.” 

“Of course I did.” 

“Will you be my boyfriend?” 

“Did you even need to ask?” 

Both laughing, they shared another kiss. And then another, and a third. When they finally managed to walk on, both boys were smiling with hearts in their eyes full of love and puffy lips, totally relaxed and happy in their little bubble. They walked in silence, but it was a comfortable one, and only returned to the palace in twilight when they were hungry. The nearer they got to the palace, the nearer to reality they felt again. When the small details of the palace’s architecture became visible, they shared one last, quick kiss and then let go of each other’s hand, slowly and unwillingly untangling their fingers. 

“That was nice,” Liam declared. 

“Really nice,” Niall added and smiled. 

“To be repeated?” 

“Definitely.” From then on, they treated each other exactly like the mates they were supposed to be. They ate what they could find in the kitchen, not dropping any hints that they had just spent practically the entire day together, and when they said good night later, they shared another stolen kiss in the hallway. Niall was on cloud nine and he felt like he wasn’t walking back to his room, but floating. He really hoped that Liz was just as happy with her boyfriend as he was with Liam. When he fell asleep, he was still smiling to himself and for once not worried about what the future would bring. 

In hindsight, he should have known that the day had been too good, too perfect, to pass without something bad happening to balance it out directly and get him back to the ground ruggedly. He woke up in the middle of the night confused and seemingly without a reason. He was just about to light up a candle and check the clock, still groggy from sleep, when he heard the sound that had woken him up and felt his heart drop and his happiness leave him like air left a bursting balloon. 

Heavy steps and rattling breaths, coming closer, already near. Automatically he checked the other side of his big bed, but, thank god, it was empty and cold. He was alone. Thump. Why did it have to happen on a day like this? Why did his father have a bad night tonight of all nights? The steps were even slower than usual. It was either his imagination, the universe taunting him or his father’s condition getting worse; Niall didn’t even feel like bad person anymore for hoping it was the last option. 

He just wanted his father to hurry up and get this over with, whatever it was that he was getting punished for this time. He was sleepy and wide awake at the same time, groggy and alert. He pressed his eyes shut so firmly that he saw stars and tried to deactivate his feelings. 

The door creaked. The belt was pulled out. His father’s panting was heavier than normally, his movements slower and the breaks between the strikes longer, but none of that made the pain easier to bear, and the torture just seemed to last forever. Niall could smell the burning scent of the alcohol even through his pillow and it made him feel sick along with the cool sweat that was pooling in his neck and the blood that he could feel, but he didn’t make a single noise. 

He begrudged his father the satisfaction of admitting he was broken and just tried to focus on other things in his mind, but not Liam, because he didn’t want to associate Liam with the pain. He couldn’t tell how long his father stayed that night or how many strikes he got until the violent final one that made him bite his pillow to avoid crying out loud and breaking down before his father had left the room. His father never stayed, never sad a word, he only left with heavy, thumping steps and breathing harder than before from the physical effort. 

Niall waited until the footsteps were completely gone and then he waited longer. His back hurt, his heart ached, and nobody was there to help him so he accepted his fate and tried to sleep again, drifting off because he was too tired and snapping awake again from a jolt of pain again every few minutes in an apparently endless circle. His head throbbed and he allowed himself to sob quietly and let some of it out, of the pain and the desperation, nobody was there to hear him anyways. 

He finally drifted off to a longer, yet still light and not really relaxing sleep in the early morning when the sun was already rising. A loud and persistent pounding on the door woke him up at noon. He lifted his head and immediately regretted the decision. His back was absolutely on fire. 

“Who is there?” He asked feebly. The pounding stopped. 

“It’s Liz,” came the answer, hesitant. “I’m back, Niall. Can I come in?” Liz couldn’t see this. 

“No,” he called as loudly and convincingly as possible. His head felt like it might burst any second. 

“Get Liam, Liz…” After that, he collapsed from the strength it had cost him to say those few words. Liz didn’t question him. He heard her running away, hopefully to get Liam, and waited. Her footsteps, light and following a fast rhythm, were back soon and accompanied by someone else, someone who was heavier and had longer legs. Liam. Niall wanted to cry again, but this time from relief. 

His boyfriend didn’t let Liz into the room. She was suspicious, but then Niall heard her give in with a sigh and walk away and a second later, his door flew open and shut and Liam was next to him, pressing a thousand kisses to the back of his head. 

“Oh, Niall,” he whispered over and over and Niall could hear that he was holding back his tears, he didn’t even need to see Liam to be able to tell exactly what his expression looked like. Liam took care of Niall’s back wordlessly and with gentle hands, while the blonde was a sobbing mess in front of him. He just couldn’t do it anymore. 

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered when he was done. Niall didn’t answer, couldn’t. The only noises leaving his mouth were soft, tiny sobs into his pillow that was wet from tears. 

“I’m so sorry,” Liam repeated. It took a long while, but with the help of Liam’s comforting touches and with his back’s stinging slowly becoming bearable, Niall started to calm down and his sobs got rarer until he had stopped crying completely. He lay on his back motionlessly, silently. Liam carried on ruffling his hair and gently playing with it, but now that Niall himself wasn’t shaking anymore, he became aware of Liam’s fingers shaking. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse and it hurt his throat to speak. Liam bellowed out a dark laugh. 

“What for?” He whispered back. “I can’t help you, I can only try to pick up the pieces, but I can’t actually help! I feel so useless, Niall!” Niall’s heart ached at the utter sadness in Liam’s voice. 

“Thank you for picking up the pieces and doing everything that’s within your potency and more. Thank you for staying with me even though it’s hard for you to witness this and you know how much of a mess I am. Thank you for being the most amazing human being I know and always knowing exactly what to say. Just, thank you, Liam. I love you.” 

They were both silent. Niall had to catch his breath, and Liam was lost for words. He finally settled for: “Anytime, Niall. I love you too, god, I love you so much.” There was a shy knocking at the door that interrupted their peaceful togetherness. 

“Boys, it’s me, Liz,” their friend announced sheepishly from behind the door. “I came back with some medicine against a headache… and something to eat. Shall I leave it here, or… can I come in?” 

“Thank god for that girl,” Liam breathed. Niall could only agree. 

“Cover me up,” he told Liam. “She doesn’t need to see this, but then, she can come in.” Liam quickly did as he was told and draped a light blanket over Niall’s otherwise bare back. 

“Come in!” He called and sat down a little more comfortably himself. Liz opened the door and stepped inside with a tray in her hands. Niall had his head turned to face the door. He couldn’t see that much in his rather weird position, and he only realized now that crap, he’d have to sit up to drink something, but he could spot a tray in her hands with a glass on it and a plate. It turned out she had brought croissants and some fruit along with a glass of water and some little white pills. 

“Maura gave them to me,” she explained. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but you didn’t sound fine and those pills are never really bad.” Niall interrupted her when she paused to breath. He could sense how uncomfortable she felt, with him in bed obviously not fully clothed and Liam, his boyfriend, beside him. 

“Thanks a lot, Liz, I have a killer headache. Sit down, please, grab the chair at my table if you’re uncomfortable on the bed, but feel free to sit anywhere. Liam, could you…” He directed the last sentence at Liam and dropped his voice, letting the end hang in the air unfinished and hoped that the other would get the message. While Liz obliged happily and sat down on the fluffy carpet, Niall managed to sit up somehow with a manageable amount of pain. His upper body was bare and his chest now showing while the thin blanket did a good job covering his back, but at least he was wearing sweatpants. Liam steadied him a bit around the waist, but let go when Niall had found his balance. Instead, he handed him the tray. Niall swallowed the painkillers first and hoped for them to kick in soon, then he realized how hungry he was. 

“I suppose you don’t want to fill me in on what’s going on?” Liz was looking at them with blatant curiosity. 

“The fewer people know the better,” Niall said. He felt silly. “Do you want a croissant?” He offered. “I mean, as you brought them and everything and we can’t even tell you what’s going on but trust me it’s for the better and…” 

“Yes, please, I’m pretty ravenous, to be honest, I haven’t found any time to eat so far today,” Liz interrupted. “And sorry, but you were ranting and there’s no need to worry. Of course I’m curious, but I’ll live if I don’t get information. I’m not so sure about that if I don’t get food anytime soon, though, so…” Liam snickered and Niall threw one croissant each at both of them. 

“You prats,” he muttered under his breath. “You prats that I wouldn’t know what to do without, though,” he added thoughtfully around a mouthful of croissant. “Honestly, thanks.” Both Liam and Liz were far too busy eating to actually answer and only smiled at him. The three of them sat without talking until there was no single crumb of food left. 

“You saved our lives, Liz,” Niall joked. “It seems almost like you are the one working in the kitchen’s here.” Liz gave him a death glare and then joined him laughing. 

“Very funny, Prince Niall. Liam is doing his job fabulously right now, I see.” Liam actually seemed to get worried for a moment, but Niall hurried to nip his worries in the bud. 

“Liam, if Maura actually throws you out, and she already likes you way too much for that, I’ll just make them hire you again! Don’t you dare worry now!” He briefly thought of Louise, the girl that had had Liam’s job until he had sent her home to nurse her Dad, and wondered how everything would have turned out if Liam hadn’t replaced her, if he hadn’t stayed outside so long and witnessed her problems. He shuddered thinking of it. Louise would be coming back some day, but it wasn’t like the kingdom of Mullingar was too poor to afford one servant more and they were already paying them both now, Maura would be delighted if she had both of them to her assistance. No, Liam really didn’t have to worry. 

“Alright, alright,” Liam gave in, raising his hands defensively. “No need to get all protective mother bear on me.” 

“Mean,” Niall complained, but the other two were laughing and nobody was there to pay attention to his pout, so he dropped it again and smiled. He enjoyed their light banter, how easily they fit. It was a great distraction and made him forget his own pain and worry, but he knew that he was only procrastinating decisions and actions and his shell was getting thinner with every violent assault. He just didn’t want to think about it and pushed it away to the far corners of his mind, instead turning to Liz. 

“You have to tell us everything about your night!” He demanded, and from her shining eyes and dreamy smile, he could tell that he hadn’t put his foot in it with the topic. “How did your girlfriend react when you were suddenly there? Tell us about her!” Liz seemed only too happy to oblige and started telling them everything. She had apparently been surprised by rain and been soaking wet when she had arrived at her home. 

“My hair and make-up were such a mess,” she laughed, “the guards didn’t even recognize me at first! I had to prove my identity at my own home, can you imagine that? Here I am, gone for not even two weeks, and my folks are already forgetting about me. Anyways…” And so on it went, with one funny story following the other. Liz obviously enjoyed sharing her joy and happiness with others and Niall and Liam only had to lean back and laugh at the right places. That job wasn’t hard because the story really was funny and Liz had a great way of telling it, using her hands and her face to underline the words comically. 

Niall was almost happy, sitting on the bed and just listening and laughing with his real boyfriend and his fake girlfriend. If he didn’t move at all, he could even forget temporarily about the pain on his back. When Liz was just telling them in detail what her girlfriend, Elle, looked like, going on passionately about green eyes and blonde hair, swearing that it was rather gold than blonde, there was suddenly a knock on the door. 

Liam had just enough time to scramble up from the bed and stop laughing. He quickly smoothened his kitchen whites that Niall hadn’t even noticed he was still wearing before. Whoever it was at the door, Liam being here was the most compromising and dangerous. The intruder didn’t politely wait outside for an answer but stormed in milliseconds after her knock. Before Niall even had the time to panic, he realized that it was Maura. 

She stood with her hands on her hips and let her sharp eyes observe the room, immediately finding Liam. He stood next to the bed, not doing anything and internally accepting the scolding and the questions that this would bring, when he suddenly had an idea and grabbed the dirty dishes and the tray. Niall picked up on the act at once. 

“Thanks for bringing us breakfast, Liam. Sorry that we kept you this long. And good morning, Maura!” Liam smiled. 

“It was a pleasure.” 

“I’d rather go with good early afternoon, Prince Niall,” Maura said, but the frown on her face had disappeared and she was smiling as well now. 

“And Princess Liz,” she added. “I don’t include you, Liam, you’ll come back with me now.” 

“He was just bringing us breakfast!” Niall made a point to clarify. 

“Yes, and I’m just taking him back with me now because you two are obviously finished with your breakfast!” It was clear that Maura knew that Liam had stayed longer than necessary, but she also knew that they were friends. She’d never suspect what really was going on, Niall realized in relief, she was much too good-hearted and believed people’s stories if they weren’t completely out of compliance. 

On his way out following and energetic Maura, Liam threw a helpless smile at Niall. Niall smiled back and signalized him it was okay with his hands. When the two servants were gone, Niall buried his face in his hands. 

“This went well, didn’t it?” Liz asked. Her excitement from before had passed. 

“Yes,” Niall admitted. “Unfortunately though this won’t be the last situation that could provoke doubts about all this.” He waved his hands around. The painkillers really helped, but his back was in one way the least of his worries now and in others a symbol for his biggest worry. Maura wouldn’t tell the king if she knew, that was for sure, she had too many motherly instincts for Niall and favoured Liam too much, but they couldn’t go around and tell all of the people that they considered trustworthy. 

The more people knew, the more dangerous their situation would become. They weren’t exactly careful because they hadn’t felt like they needed to be, but Niall was getting more and more stressed, and a situation like this wasn’t helping. Liz could have been not even there yet. What if she had stayed away longer? Liam wouldn’t have had an excuse like breakfast and they would have been alone. What if it had been someone else surprising them? Niall’s father couldn’t even find out that he was friends with servants. 

“I can see you thinking,” Liz pointed out. “But, you know, what ifs won’t help. It went well this time, that’s all you have to care about right now.” Niall forced himself to smile and nod. 

“You’re right.” 

“Always am,” Liz grinned. Niall didn’t feel like grinning along, but he did anyways, and he tried hard to keep up with Liz’s story that she now started to go on with, but to himself, his laugh sounded forced. If Liz noticed, she didn’t say anything about it. On the inside Niall was tense. The incidents were adding up. 

His father, Taylor, his father again, Maura. There were people around them. They were seen and noticed and Niall had to bite his inner cheek because he wanted to cry from frustration. It was just too much. Liz left like an hour later, announcing that she had stuff to do, and Niall was left alone. He decided to let his back rest and so he lay down again and just did nothing. He tried to stop thinking, but that didn’t work. 

The thoughts and fears were racing through his mind until he couldn’t even properly tell them apart anymore. His father’s voice jutted out sometimes, telling him he was a failure, and then he heard Taylor’s terrifying sing song, telling him to just wait until she found out everything. It made Niall feel sick, but he couldn’t just vomit his worries out, so he tried his hardest not to retch. He longed for something, someone to distract him, but there was nothing for a long time until he heard unfamiliar footsteps (why did his room have to be so damn far away from everything else that he hadn’t even heard footsteps since Liz was gone?) and a knock on the door. He checked if his injuries were still covered and then called the visitor in. 

“A letter for you, Prince Niall,” the servant said. 

“Give it to me, please,” Niall told her. She did and then left again hurriedly. Huh, he obviously hadn’t talked to her much when she was still this frightened of him. He sighed. Why did almost everyone always have to assume that he was like his father before they got to know him? He wasn’t, for god’s sake! He opened the letter curiously. Only a small piece of paper fell out. 

“I’m watching you,” it read, “and it is a very interesting thing to do indeed. You and Mr. Servant, and a fake girlfriend with a very nice and sweet girlfriend herself to conceal your scandalous actions. I am almost impressed at your intrigues, but mine are still greater and so I am not. When will you realize that this whole charade is uncalled-for? Imagine how easy you’d have it with me, you’d have nothing to worry about…” 

The paper wasn’t signed, but Niall knew just too well from who it was. He felt cold sweat breaking out on his neck and lost control of his breathing. He felt as if he’d been hit by a big stone or a horse, his world upside down once again. He leaned over and threw up his breakfast into the waste basket. It was just too much pressure on his stomach. His mouth’s taste was disgusting and the smell of the vomit made him have to hold his nose. 

Taylor hadn’t given up and she knew. She even knew about Liz’s girlfriend, she was watching all three of them. Instinctively, Niall ducked down, but she couldn’t be watching at this very moment because he hadn’t heard anything and his room was on third floor, too high to look through the window. It wasn’t possible that she was watching him right now, but yesterday, he had been in the gardens with Liam, and as they were far enough from the palace, they had thought they were safe. It had obviously been a grave mistake. Their behaviour had been entirely unambiguous. Friends could maybe take endless walks together and some friends would also hold hands, but friends did not share kisses like that. Taylor didn’t let him know what exactly she had seen and when, and that only made things worse because it meant they could never feel truly safe. A part of him wondered how a princess had become a crazy stalker like that, obviously not in her right mind. 

He remembered meeting her for the first time at the ball, Princess Taylor of the kingdom of Dunmore, remembered her stunning appearance and his immediate dislike for her. The troubles that she put them through now with her absolute madness were beyond everything he could have imagined back then. Niall tried to get his breathing back under control and slow his heartbeat down to a normal level, but he could only see red, blinking lights of alarm everywhere. He couldn’t take it, he just needed Liam to be there, but at the same time, he wanted to keep the other as far away as just possible. When he was just somewhere near calming down there was knock on the door again. 

“Yes?” Niall called feebly. He hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps, which was bad because it meant that Taylor’s threats were actually doing something to him, working him up. 

“Another letter,” the same servant from before said, and then quickly added: “Prince Niall.” Niall could hear her fear, but that wasn’t something he had the strength to think about right now. He didn’t bother to look up and getting up seemed impossible anyways. It was humiliating enough that someone saw him like this. His mouth smelled like rotting corpses, he was sweating, he so weak that he only made a slight movement with his right hand to wave the servant over. She gave the letter to him and then backed away, fast. 

Niall knew he looked weird, but weak as he was, she probably wasn’t afraid of him attacking her or something like that. He didn’t look weird, he looked mad, the not-in-his-right-mind kind of mad, and he was disgusted by himself. When the servant was gone, he opened this second letter. His fingers shook so badly that he had to try four times until the envelope was finally opened and somehow cut his finger on the paper while he was at it. It wasn’t bad, it didn’t even hurt in comparison to his back, but it only added to his frustration and he had to choke back tears. The letter was written in neat and very tidy handwriting. It was a morbid contrast to its contents. 

“I am watching you. All the time. Never forget that. You are being seen. Even when you think you are alone, you never are. Others may leave you, but I never would. You are my entire universe.” 

Niall laughed and cried at the same time. Some of the words even seemed sweet, and coming from Liam he would have loved hearing them, but coming from Taylor, they had a threatening undertone. She was obsessed, and Niall was her victim. He spent the entire day in bed, flinching at every sound. In the evening, he forced himself to get up and at least pretend that things were somewhat okay. He couldn’t show how big the impact that the letters had on him were, and he couldn’t let Liam see them or the mess that Niall was. 

He cleaned his waste basket from the puke that he didn’t even smell anymore by now and brushed his teeth, wishing he had some more painkillers when he splashed cold water into his face to make the dizziness go away and his back punished him for bending towards the sink. 

“This is pathetic,” Niall muttered to himself and looked away from his own reflection in the mirror. He couldn’t stand the image. Back in his room, he checked his wardrobe and under his bed, now paranoid, but he was alone. It was the first time he actually considered locking his door. He never did it. One time years ago his father had come to beat him up at night and found Niall’s door locked. Niall hadn’t been able to walk for two weeks straight after the beating that followed the next day. He didn’t like remembering that, but it had been a lesson to never lock his door ever again. Then again, his father had never come two nights in a row. Niall’s theory was that it just wasn’t enough fun when Niall was still injured from last time and he couldn’t put any new marks on him. 

He got up and locked the door. He knew that he was locking out Liam with that as well, but that side effect was probably for the better anyways. It was a rough day followed by a rough night and then a rough week. Niall was antsy and constantly on edge. Liam noticed, of course, but he thought it was because of their hiding and Niall gratefully took the opportunity to just say yes. He couldn’t talk to Liam about Taylor, and he didn’t want to lie full on. It was hard to kiss Liam, to just hold hands with him or touch him in any harmless way, because the image of a laughing Taylor would always appear in his mind, and as time went on, Liam stopped initiating the touches. Niall was torn between relief and a desperate longing for love. 

He was on the edge of tears all the time, but he did his best to play his part better than before. He took Liz for long walks, surprising her with sudden passionate kisses and gave her flowers all the time. She would look at him questioningly, but let it drop when it became clear that he didn’t intend to answer. When they came back to the palace, he noticed Liam staring at him with sad eyes. It made his heart ache, but he had to ignore it. It was for the better. That was what he kept telling himself. He didn’t hear from Taylor all week, but it was still impossible to relax. He knew that the silence was only delusive and Taylor was there, waiting just outside of his field of vision, waiting for the right moment to drop her bomb. He saw his father for the first time again after nine days. 

They were already more than three weeks into Liz’s probation period as Niall’s wife, and his father demanded to see him one evening. He looked worse, just like he always did, sitting in throne like a walrus, red in the face even though he did nothing, his hair greasy, his clothes dirty and his skin covered by an oily film. He stank. Niall sat down in front of him, expecting the worst. 

“You are having too much fun,” his father spit. His father. Niall wanted to stop calling him that in his mind, he didn’t want this relation to a man who was pure evil and nothing else. What kind of father did everything to prevent his son from being happy? Niall didn’t answer. 

“That filthy Princess Elizabeth and you are up to something, aren’t you? You’re always up to something, you disappointing useless little shit.” It was the same all over and over again. His father wasn’t smart or creative, but he was powerful enough to make the same, banal insults without substantiation hurt again every single time. Niall didn’t let it show. 

“The four weeks are almost over and she has done nothing that proves her incapability of being my wife,” Niall contradicted. He spoke normally, but compared to his father’s roaring, angry voice, his sounded tiny. His father scoffed, but it was clear that Niall was right, even though he technically wasn’t. Liz of course wasn’t going to be his wife. She had left to see her girlfriend once! But his father didn’t know that. It was almost funny that he automatically accused Niall of being up to something just because he begrudged him to the acted happiness and came so close to hitting the truth. 

“You will be the ruin of this kingdom,” the king roared on his throne and spit flew from his mouth. Niall sat and watched. “You- you…“ His father couldn’t come up with new insults, and Niall watched him struggle with mischievous pleasure. 

“Get out of my eyes, bastard!” Niall left within a heartbeat. For the moment his father’s frustration seemed funny and Niall was glad that he had gotten out of the room so that fast, but the nearer he got to his room, the more he dreaded the night. It was never good to frustrate his father and provoke his anger. It didn’t take long this time, just as Niall had predicted. The whole palace had just gotten quiet when the footsteps already started to approach. He wondered what it was like to have a better father, or what it was like to be able to stand up for oneself. 

Niall wouldn’t know, he didn’t dare to stand up for himself, the least when it came to his father. He was angry at the world, but most of all, he was angry at himself. Why could he never do anything right? Niall didn’t try to count the hits or keep track of the time that was passing by. When it was over, he stayed in the same apathetic position. 

His back burned, his heart ached and he felt like a mess. The feeling got worse with every time, like his father took something of him every time he made him fall apart and left him irreparable. He wondered faintly whether Liam would sense something, notice the difference in the atmosphere, and show up, but he didn’t really dare to hope for it because he had pushed Liam away so much in the past few days out of fear. It was good that Liam kept his distance just like Niall kept his, but that it was technically good didn’t ease the pain. He was alone and it was for the better. If he didn’t give Taylor anything, maybe she would stop harassing him completely. Niall somehow managed to drift off to sleep regardless of the pain. He woke up in the middle of the night completely disoriented and from someone stroking his hair. 

“Niall,” the person whispered. Something told him it was Liam, but he was too far gone to listen to that voice. He was broken, and afraid. Nobody had the right to touch him. He sat up, ignoring the sharp pain that made him see stars, and lashed out, hitting the intruder, hitting Liam, right in the face with his fist. 

“Don’t touch me!” He yelled. “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” 

He could hear Liam’s surprised gasp of pain, before the other backed away. He had his hands raised defensively. Niall couldn’t see his face, but he heard his bewildered, deeply sad whisper. 

“Niall?” 

“Don’t touch me!” He half-yelled and half-sobbed, and that was all it took for Liam to leave. Niall broke down crying. He had become what he had always feared. He had let his anger take over and hit the person that meant the most in the entire world to him. He had become a beast like his father. 

The king had finally broken him, and now Niall was alone. 

There was no way that Liam would come back to him after that, and there was no way that Niall would let him. He had proved that he was unstable and a mess. Liam was in danger when he was with Niall. His anger was long gone while he was sobbing inconsolably. The damage though had been done. Niall didn’t move for the next four days. He faintly registered that someone brought him food every now and then, but it was nobody he knew and whoever it was left fast. His back got better with time, but it wasn’t like Niall actually felt the pain. 

He didn’t care about the sufferings of his body. He deserved all the pain in the world for the unforgivable. After five days, or at least he was fairly sure that it had been five days, Niall’s visible injuries had healed. Liam hadn’t come to visit once. He hadn’t even seen Liz. He hadn’t received any messages. He just sat on his bed leaning against head piece with a blank expression and dull eyes, staring off into nothingness, when Liz burst into his room all of a sudden. 

“I won’t go on like this!” She announced angrily. “Niall James, do you have any effing idea what day it is and what you have put me through during the last five days? If you don’t, I will tell you. You look horrible, by the way. I come running to Liam five days ago because you weren’t answering my knocks and he is in the kitchens, telling me you left for some business thing and won’t be back another five days to a week or something. I believe him, of course, I have learned to not think about it when something is off with you two! I’ve been here for four weeks now! And that is kind of the point also.” 

She looked at Niall with her arms crossed and a furious face as if she expected him to say something. 

“Fine then, you don’t want to react. I don’t know whatever it is that is up with you, but it has been four weeks and you should know that this means if we don’t have an amazing idea quickly as in until tomorrow, we are getting married. So don’t ignore me for god’s sake! I don’t know what the heck you have done to Liam, but today I found out that he lied to me when I talked to Maura all worried because you still weren’t back from your trip and she looks at me all surprised and with pity and says something along ‘oh dear, Prince Niall had been here all the time’. I deserve to know what is going on, don’t you think?” Niall blinked. 

“Liam kept you from coming here?” He asked incredulously. That had either been very mean or very considerate, and knowing Liam’s kindness, it had probably been considerate, even after what Niall had done to him. Liz teared her hair. 

“He did and no, I don’t have an idea why because I have no idea of absolutely nothing!” Niall swallowed hard. She was right about deserving to know, and he needed to brace himself at least for her, after everything she had done for them when that term probably didn’t even exist anymore. 

“We kind of had a fight,” he confessed. 

“You don’t say,” she scoffed. 

“You know my father,” he continued, ignoring her sarcastic remark. “I’ve never wanted to be like him, but it seems like I can’t succeed with that.” She finally listened properly and stopped angrily pacing. 

“I hit Liam when he wanted to help me five days ago.” Saying the truth out loud made it even more real and Niall hated himself so much. “I’m sorry that I’ve since ignored everything that I had to do and I’m sorry that I’ve been selfish and have forgotten about the date. I will do everything to get you out of this now.” She raised her hands. 

“Stop. I can’t follow. You… hit Liam?” Niall nodded and then his self-control was gone again and his barriers broke. The tears started to fall. 

“I was so stressed,” he whispered. “I know this is unforgivable. I understand that he doesn’t want to see me anymore. I’m scared of hurting him again, and I know I will if he comes back because I am my father’s son and it seems like I just can’t escape from that.” Liz sat down on the other end of the bed and faced him. He couldn’t read her expression. 

“You’re an absolute idiot,” she finally said, and it sounded almost amazed. “Do you realize how miserable Liam is, down there? Do you realize how miserable you are? You haven’t even broken up, but if you go on like that, you will. At this point, you need to work for a relationship, you need to pull yourself together and fight! Yes, you made an effing mistake and I won’t sugar coat that for you, but Liam will forgive you and then you will work on yourself instead if just moping and this will get better! People fight in a relationship! I don’t know what he wanted to help you with, but I’ve seen you at some low points by now and I realize that this whole mess is somehow about your father, and he obviously knew a lot, yet he stayed!” She took a break to breath, and Niall needed that break to think before she resumed her speech, this time softer. 

“You’ve never been in a relationship before, have you? Let me tell you something. Your thing with Liam was new and it still is, but you’re getting over your honeymoon phase where everything is lovey-dovey and perfect. Love is perfect just as much as life is; it is not and it was never meant to be. But you and Liam are still good for each other, you belong together, and that it something you don’t just give up, even when it gets harder. I get that you have problems with relationships, trust and all that, it’s only natural with what I’ve seen of your relationship with your father. You may have violent tendencies but you fight against them, and you are normally such a kind person that I look like an insensitive lump when we’re together. You can’t hurt a bee, and those things are really evil sometimes, so whatever it was that made you hurt Liam physically must have been something really, really big, and you are obviously regretting it. You’re just not handling it well, and that’s what I’m here to help you with. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, it’s more about the apology when you’ve really messed up! I did that once, too, with my girlfriend. We didn’t speak to each other for a week, and then I pulled myself together and we talked it out and since then, we’ve been happier than ever before. Thus, did you get my point?” Niall nodded slowly. 

“Yes, I think,” he answered before it really hit him. “Oh my god, I have to talk to Liam. I have to apologize.” 

“That’s my boy!” Liz called happily, but her expression returned to serious at once and she grabbed Niall’s foot when he tried to get up. “But not so fast. He’s waited five days, five more minutes won’t make a difference. I want to talk to you.” Niall wanted to argue with her on that point, but he could see that there was something else on her heart and that she was itching to get rid of it. 

“Tell me,” he encouraged. 

“It’s rather a question,” she said evasively. Niall only raised his eyebrows. She couldn’t motivate him to be brave and pull himself together and then chicken out herself. 

“You know, I have noticed how you have been doing more with me than with Liam, and I know it’s not because you realized you love me after all and plan to ditch him. He’s also noticed. He’s tried to fight, but you brushed both of us off all the time and I get that you don’t want me to deeply involved in your personal things but as far as I know, Liam is like the most important person in your life and the person you tell the most, so I figure nobody knows what you are keeping even from him and that’s really, really unhealthy when it’s something this big.” Niall sighed. 

“This isn’t about you,” he complained. “I thought you had a problem that you wanted to talk to me about.” She flipped him off. 

“The one with the problem is you this time. And I won’t let you go now!” 

“Fine then.” 

“Niall.” 

“What?” 

“Stop avoiding the question!” 

“Fine! You noticed that my father isn’t exactly open-minded. You are a princess already and he still doesn’t particularly like you. And you probably saw that he doesn’t respect the servants, like, at all, no matter how intelligent or anything they are, just because they aren’t aristocratic. He thinks of them as scum. I mean, he says the same about me, but that’s partly because I like them. I speak to them, I treat them nicely, and thus they like me. So, the thing is, my father kind of forbid me to associate with the servants. That is impossible because there is only me and him at the palace, but I try not to flaunt it to him. I know exactly what he’d say if he knew about my relationship with Liam, and what he’d do.” 

Niall quickly moved on from that. The beatings still weren’t something that Liz needed to know about, especially when he’s inform her about Taylor in a matter of seconds. 

“I want to avoid that, for me and also for Liam. I’ve been trying to protect him and our relationship, I swear!” 

“Of course,” Liz threw in. “The mess is always made when one tries to protect everyone alone.” 

“Anyways,” Niall continued, “it worked out because my father obviously doesn’t leave his throne at all during the day and we’ve got most of the servants, they support us rather than my father because everyone is scared of him. But… not everyone is like that, and with some people I totally get that, I mean…” 

“Niall, get to the point.” 

“Do you remember Taylor? Princess Taylor of the kingdom of Dunmore? The one that’s taller than me, blonde, red lipstick?” 

“The scary one?” 

“And scary is exactly the right word in its literal meaning.” 

“Didn’t she leave early, while you were gone doing whatever?” 

“Uh, yes. That’s the one.” 

“What does she have to do with this?” 

“She is kind of obsessed with marrying me. She seems to think I belong to her like a pet or something!” Niall said. It sounded silly to him. “This is not what I wanted this to sound like,” he complained. “It’s, like, really scary. She’s stalking us.” A cold shiver ran down his neck the moment he realized what was implied with that sentence. “I’m scared,” he confessed. “She could be watching us right now.” Liz’s eyes widened. 

“You are kidding me.” 

“I wish this was some joke, but I’m seriously scared!” Niall admitted. He looked around, but his room looked the same as always. Liz scrambled forward and put a comforting hand on his knee. 

“I’m really glad I got this out of you. Why haven’t you talked to anyone earlier?” 

“I didn’t want you to worry about it? I mean, you can’t really do anything about it and it was my problem, so…” Liz cocked her head and smiled knowingly. 

“You don’t really talk about your problems, do you?” Niall just shrugged. He didn’t. To whom was he supposed to talk for the first eighteen years of his life? And besides, every single person seemed to figure him out in a matter of seconds, anyways. Liz spoke up again soon, her voice firm and a lot more business-like. 

“Let me just get this straight before we’ll go down there and get your man back. That Taylor princess is a crazy stalker and threatens to tell your father about you and Liam with the final destination to get you to marry her because she is totally out of her mind.” Niall wanted to answer, but someone else beat him to the draw. 

Without either of them noticing, the door had opened and a tall, slim figure had been standing in the doorway for a few seconds. Princess Taylor now fully stepped into the room and laughed maniacally. 

“I’d say this is about right. Your story lacks a bit of detail that you don’t know about yet, though, and I’d leave out the part where you depict me as a crazy stalker who is out of her mind. You will all realize in the end that I was right from the start. Prince Niall is meant to be with me, and I’ll prove it to you.” 

Niall and Liz shivered simultaneously. The crazy princess seemed relaxed in the doorway. Her appearance was as conspicuous as always, wearing her characteristic red lipstick, this time with a short black dress and red shoes, it were only her ruffled hair and the crazy glimmer of her eyes that hinted her craziness. 

“Come with me,” she demanded harshly. “The both of you. I’ve got something, or rather someone, who is waiting for you downstairs, Liz. A nice little girlfriend you have, lovely girl, really.” Liz snapped while Niall only breathed in sharply. Taylor had captured Liz’s girlfriend as a hostage? The situation was actually worse than they had thought. 

“You won’t do anything to my girlfriend!” Liz screamed at the top of her lungs and urged forward in an attempt to attack Taylor with her bare hands. She stopped dead in her tracks when Taylor suddenly pulled a shiny, silver knife out from her pocket and laughed again. 

“You bitch! You won’t harm Elle, she’s got nothing to do with this!” 

“If you follow me right now, nice and quiet, both of you, I won’t. Otherwise I can’t promise you anything…” 

“Fine, fine! Just don’t hurt her!” If Niall had to sacrifice himself and his happiness to save a life, he would never think twice. 

“Now that sounds better.” Taylor smirked and threw her hair back, pleased with herself. Liz looked at Niall. She was thankful, of course, but she doubted that Taylor would actually stay true to her words. They didn’t really have a choice. Taylor was in charge now. She led them out of the room, where they were immediately surrounded by men that must be Taylor’s servants. They all carried knifes. 

“Keep it down,” Taylor commanded. “And you two, follow!” The whole situation wouldn’t have been so scary if Taylor stopped grinning just once, but see was so obviously sure of herself winning that Niall and Liz automatically lost hope. Liz kept thinking and thinking, while Niall just accepted his fate. 

“Taylor!” 

“I told you to follow me, not talk to me and interrupt my business!” 

“I need to know where Elle is first. I want to see her. You can’t be trusted, obviously. We have to make sure that she is actually here.” 

“Fine then,” Taylor spat. “You! Bring the girl!” A guard rushed off with scared eyes. Liz had her arms crossed. She didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but they needed time, and someone like Taylor needed a challenge. 

“So, tell us about your amazing plan. I am sure it is interesting, I’d love to hear about it.” Taylor only smirked. 

“It’s not as easy as that, little Liz. Nice little try at sarcasm though, I like your attitude.” 

“I don’t quite like yours.” 

“What a surprise.” Niall watched the two girls battling. It was obvious that Liz was bound to lose. She was surrounded by six of Taylor’s guards and their knives rose up higher with every word she said. They were ready to hit. Before the situation could escalate, they could hear footsteps from the end of the hallway. Liz forgot about Taylor and the guards and wanted to run toward the guard. Niall had troubles keeping her back, but he saw the mischievous glint in Taylor’s eyes. Liz losing her control was exactly what Taylor had planned on. The guard was carrying a girl. She was unconscious, but hopefully alive. Judging from Liz’s reaction, it must be Elle. 

“Are you satisfied now?” Taylor asked almost sweetly. Liz was near crying. She wiggled in Niall’s arms, trying to get out, but he held her firmly. 

“This is dumb,” he whispered. “You can’t do anything now.” Liz screamed out of frustration. Taylor looked alarmed, and a guard instantly grabbed Liz out of Niall’s arms and pressed his hand in front of her mouth. The scream had woken Elle. She looked around confusedly. Taylor only rolled her eyes. 

“All amateurs,” she scoffed. “We have an appointment.” She led them on, Niall following by himself, but surrounded by four armed guards, and Liz dragged behind by another guard. She kicked and pushed with all her strength, but the muscled men was stronger. Niall of course recognized quickly were they were going. His father would be waiting, right on the throne, and Niall didn’t know what to do. If he was lucky, his father would only make him leave the kingdom and leave it to Taylor instead. He had never wanted Niall on the throne, anyways, and Niall didn’t care too much about being the leader of a kingdom. He just wished he could help more people. As they continued their way, he noticed something else about it, though. 

They would have to pass by the kitchens! Internally, Niall prepared for his only chance. He needed Liam to save both Liz and Elle. The kitchens neared. Niall tried to distance himself a bit from the guards, millimetre by millimetre. When they were right in front of the door, he did the only thing that had made Taylor’s satisfied grin drop. He screamed at the top of his lungs. 

“Liam! Help! We…” He couldn’t explain anything else to Liam before a guard grabbed him so harshly that his lungs were crushed and he couldn’t breathe for a moment. 

“Will you shut up?” Niall couldn’t respond to Taylor. There was a huge, raw hand in front of his mouth and a knife held up to his throat. Taylor smirked. 

“This is better.” Niall looked down at the floor. He didn’t know if Liam had heard him, and if he’d heard him, would he even come? Niall had hurt him the last time they’d seen each other. What if Liam didn’t care about him anymore? Taylor stopped suddenly. Niall hadn’t noticed they’d already reached the heart of the palace, but here they were, only metres from his father and separated merely by a wall and some wooden doors. 

“We’re going in there now, and if you do anything, she’s dead, have you understood?” Taylor pointed to Elle. The girl’s eyes widened in pure terror. She, just like Niall, had knife held up to her throat. Niall didn’t even dare to nod. 

“Fine,” Taylor sing-sang. “Then let us get this over with. I have big plans for this kingdom.” She pushed the doors open with ease. The servants inside were obviously shocked at the intruder in their halls, and even more shocked when they saw their prince, his almost-fiancé and another girl, all carried or dragged by muscly men, trailing inside behind her. The king barely looked up from his food, which seemed to be a salad bowl of chocolate pudding. He moved the spoon slowly and his face had by now become a shade of purple. His breathing was heavy and rattling. 

“What do you want?” The food spluttered from his mouth as he spoke. Taylor couldn’t hide her disgust, but she kept the act up. 

“I’m going to tell you something about your son that you won’t like.” 

“What’s new? That bastard, I’d be surprised if I liked anything about him. Treating him right, you are, the coward and that nothing of a girl he picked.” Taylor hesitated for a moment while gasps were to be heard in the audience. Niall almost grinned. He, of course, knew what his father thought about him. 

“So, what? I don’t have all day!” 

“He’s not with the girl you see here,” Taylor revealed when she had regained control of herself. “He doesn’t plan to marry her. He’s with a servant.” And that was the exact moment Liam chose to burst through the door. Niall’s guard dropped his knife a little in surprise, and Niall used this chance to break free and stumble into Liam’s arms. 

“Thank you,” he muttered quickly. “I love you, and I’m so sorry.” 

“Not exactly the time for this,” Liam pointed out. He was right. They were surrounded by guards, and Taylor was furious. 

“Stop them!” She screeched. Niall glanced at his father. The king was breathing heavily. He had stopped eating, and his face turned bluer with every second. Niall didn’t exactly know why he did what he did next. All he knew was that suddenly his lips were on Liam’s and he was clinging on to the other boy for dear life, holding him tight. Around them, everything broke into chaos. Taylor screamed in frustration. Niall heard something drop to the ground, and then the screams and the gasps of some more people. He stopped kissing Liam and turned around to see what was happening. The first thing he saw was Taylor. She had stopped screaming and was now bellowing out commands. 

“Take the girl! No, not the princess, the other! Come with me!” He didn’t realize quickly enough what that was about, only when Taylor and her guards where halfway out of the door, and then he wasn’t fast enough. He watched them run free, and they were carrying Elle with them. 

“No!” Liz’s scream was blood-curling. She stumbled around, trying to get her balance back after the guard had let her go so suddenly. Liam was with her a second after, steadying her. In this moment, Niall finally remembered his father. There was a crowd of servants around him, but they parted for Niall at once. 

“He’s dead,” one whispered. 

“Died from shock.” 

“He was bound to die soon, anyways.” 

“Unbelievable.” 

Niall looked at the slumped mass of flesh that had once been a person in front of him, and the remains of chocolate pudding all over the floor. 

“Can someone clean this up, please? And get the corpse outside, please, we will hold a funeral in the near future.” The servants immediately followed his instructions. Niall just stood in front of them, watching. This was what he had always wished for, but he hadn’t expected it to happen like this. Liam came up to him. 

“I’d say I’m sorry,” he muttered into Niall’s ear whilst wrapping his arms around him. “But I don’t think that’s what you want to hear. So I’ll tell you that I forgive you, instead, and I’ve forgiven you a minute after what happened. I could never hate you, Niall, and I think I’m only now getting a picture of what you’ve been through. The best of us make mistakes, it’s what makes us human.” 

“Why are you so wise? Thank you, Liam. I love you so much and I’ll forever be sorry.” The servants carried his father away, taking the throne with them that had been already plus size and still too small in the end. 

“It’s not over yet,” Niall whispered. “We have to help Liz now, and get Elle back, and we have to face the consequences of being out and…” 

“Hey, Niall, breathe for a moment, just breathe.” A servant came up to them, and Liam loosened his grip on Niall a bit so that he could properly talk to him. 

“We have brought him out, King Niall.” 

“Thank you, An- Wait a moment, what did you just call me?” Niall completely freed himself from Liam’s arms and stared at the servant. 

“Your father has died and you’re the only heir of the throne, so you’re the king now. Call when you need something, King Niall.” And with that, the servant bowed and retreated through a side door. Niall stood in the middle of the room and just stared. His mouth hung far open. Liz came up to them. Her face was red from crying but there was also determination in her eyes. 

“King Niall,” she said and laughed shakily. 

“Shut up,” Niall pleaded. “Please, I don’t want my friends to treat me any differently.” Liam’s arms were back around him. 

“You are not becoming your father, you know,” Liam muttered into his ear from behind. Niall leaned into his touch and closed his eyes for a moment. 

“I’d like to just hide in my room and go to sleep,” he sighed. “But we need to find Elle. I promise, Liz, we will find her.” 

“It’s no use to run behind them right now. You have to sort things out first, at least the most urgent. But thank you. It’s weird to say this, but you will be a great king.” 

“And you will be a great queen someday.” Liz smiled through her pain. 

“Someday, maybe.” 

Niall smiled before he turned around to face the entire room instead of her. 

“This is all not very convenient,” he began. “But I ask you to make everyone leave their work for a moment and come here, I’ve got a few announcements to make.” He watched the servants running and the room filling up. It scared him in some ways, being the leader of all those people officially. He didn’t like commands, he didn’t like giving them. But he was the king, and if he didn’t give commands, he also couldn’t change anything. After a while, everyone seemed to be there. Niall turned to look at Liam and Liz. 

“Stay here, please. I need someone behind me.” Then, he faced his audience. 

“Welcome, everyone. Thanks for coming here. I’ve, uh, got a few announcements to make. First of all, the king, my father, has died. I suspect it’s not really a surprise for anyone regarding the state he was in for the past few weeks. This means that I am the king now. I don’t want you to think that things are going to stay the same now. My father made a lot of mistakes and though I fear I will never be a perfect leader, I will certainly not make the same mistakes he made. We will hold a funeral soon, but there is business that is more urgent. Today, someone has been kidnapped. I will not give you any more information right now to protect other people, but I will need some of you to help me and Princess Liz find her. You will certainly expect me and Liz to marry, but that is not the case. We aren’t and never were in a relationship. This was merely a charade to calm my father. As the new king, I will change one thing fundamentally at the very first, and that is our treatment of the people that work for us every day, the servants, you. My father treated you very badly and I know that. I think there should not be a difference between me and you. We only do our job, me too, and we are all just human. That is what I believe. I want to make something official today, and that is my romantic relationship with Liam. Most of you know him, but you don’t know him as my boyfriend. I’m telling you about us now because we have been hiding for weeks and it has done nothing good to either of us. I love Liam, and I hope Liam returns the feeling, so I won’t keep our relationship secret and I intend to marry him someday. Thank you for your attention.” 

Niall blushed and stepped back, right into Liam, who put a comforting hand on his back. 

“That was great, Niall,” he whispered. Niall smiled, but the silence in front of him didn’t help with his insecurity. That was until someone started clapping, quiet and hesitant, and more and more people joined in, until the entire room was clapping and cheering. 

“They already love you.” Liz shook her head, amazed. “It’s incredible.” Niall just smiled. When the room had cleared out, Liam cocked his head and looked at Niall with a smug grin. 

“So, you intend to marry me?” 

“Oh, shut up.” They fell into each other’s arms and a kiss that was pure relief and love. 

“Guys, now that we’ve sorted that all out, could you please stop being so disgustingly lovey-dovey and sweet? You’re making me want to gag.” Liam and Niall broke apart at Liz’s words. She was joking, of course, but she was also hurt and tense, fiddling with her hands and rocking back and forth on her feet. 

“I’m sorry,” Niall immediately said. “We’ll get Elle back, now. Come on.” He grabbed Liam’s hand with his left and Liz’s wrist with his right and pulled them both along. He could feel the servants watching them with amused expressions, but fond also. Most of them had known Niall since he was a little child. It must be about as weird for them that he was the king now as it was for Niall. The three of them were headed for the kitchens, were they almost ran into Maura, coming to a halt right in front of her. 

“King Niall,” she said. “So this is why you have stolen my kitchen boy all the time. Well, I am glad Louise is back. I suppose you won’t have him working in the kitchen anymore.” Only then she caught the serious expression and the urgency on Niall’s face. “What is really going on?” 

“I kind of need you to take care of just about everything for a while?” Niall made it sound like a question. “Liz’s girlfriend has been kidnapped by Princess Taylor and now we need to go and save her.” 

“I’ll just assume that I misunderstood you, King Niall?” 

“Sadly you haven’t. And please stop with the King Niall, Maura, it sounds weird! Thank you very much and we’ll be back as soon as possible!” He didn’t wait for an answer. Maura was tough under her sweetness, he knew that. They ran into the gardens and headed for the stables this time, where they quickly filled Harry in (“So, that’s why I went to Oldcastle that time? Sick! How many horses do you need and how many men? I’m coming with you!”), processed to Paul who gladly lent them two more of his workers, called Louis and Josh, and helped with getting the horses ready. They were ready to leave less than an hour later. 

“They can’t have come far,” Liz stated. 

“What is the plan even?” Josh and Louis seemed to be rather confused. 

“We’ll tell you on the way. We need to go to Dunmore!” Niall climbed his horse. As a prince – no, wait. As now a king he had of course learned how to ride a horse at a very young age. The same could be said about Liz. All five of them turned to Liam, then, who had gone quiet from the first time it became clear how Niall wanted to follow Taylor and save Elle. Now, he was still standing next to his horse, awkwardly clinging to the reins. Niall raised his eyebrows questioningly. 

“Liam, have you ever sat on a horseback before?” 

“N-no? I kind of never had to and we didn’t have a farm and lessons would have been expensive and everything was walking distance, more or less, and…” 

“Hey, it’s alright! Harry, Louis, or Josh, can one of you bring the horse back into the stables please and tell Paul that we don’t need it? I’ll take Liam with me.” 

“Of course.” 

“Isn’t that too much for one horse?” Liam blurted out, obviously embarrassed, while Josh went to bring the horse back to Paul. Niall flipped him off. 

“Horses are quite strong. Come on, I’ll help you up!” Liam sat behind Niall two minutes later and had his arms wrapped around the blonde’s waist tightly. 

“This is scary,” he muttered, more to himself than for anyone to hear. 

“You can also stay,” Niall offered kindly, but Liam only shook his head. 

“I want to help.” 

“You’re stubborn, you know? But if that’s what you want.” Josh was back and in his saddle within seconds, and take took off, not looking back. 

“Harry, can you lead the way?” Niall shouted. Harry nodded and directed his horse toward the front of them all. “Let’s go to Dunmore!” 

They started off with galloping horses and a crowd of people waving behind them, but after an hour, when the cheers had long faded away, they started to slow down. 

“There is not really a plan,” Liz stated, directing her horse next to Niall’s. “How far away is Dunmore?” 

“Too far. I’m hoping to catch them before we get there, to be honest.” 

“But what are we going to do? They overpowered us once, they will overpower the next time just as well.” 

“But last time, we were surprised, and this time, it’s going to be them. And our only goal is to get Elle out of their hands.” Liz sighed. “I’m so sorry that I got her involved in this. She used to be only one of our servants, but she was always there and we were friends and then… Well, obviously my parents don’t know about that either. They’d be horrified.” The three servants listened, puzzling the story together by themselves, while Niall suddenly felt Liam’s arms around his waist tighten. 

“Liam? Are you okay?” 

“I was just thinking,” Liam called, and he sounded nervous, “what if they aren’t even going to Dunmore with her? We just assumed that, but what if her plan isn’t over here. What if they are going to Oldcastle?” Liz made her horse stop abruptly. 

“Oh, damn! That’s actually too well possible for my liking. Quick, we need to get to Oldcastle!” They turned their horses around, picking up speed again, this time in almost the opposite direction. 

“Faster, faster!” Liz was at the front, urging all the others to hurry. Not only did she want to get Elle back, now she also needed to prevent damage at her home. Her parents weren’t so likely to just die when they heard of her daughter’s girlfriend. One and a half hours later, they were almost at the palace of Oldcastle, it already being visible on the horizon, and there was still nothing to see of Taylor and her guards. And Elle. 

“I guess they’re already there,” Liz said bitterly. “Well, it was bound to come out some day.” Niall wanted to answer when he heard Louis, who was in front of them by now, shouting something all excitedly. 

“What?” 

“I found something!” 

“There’s lots of hoof imprints here,” Harry pointed out, more precisely. “So we have been right.” 

“What are we waiting for, them?” Liz spurred her horse so that it threw its forelegs up in the air and then started to gallop. 

“Impressive,” Liam muttered behind Niall, who only grinned and then performed almost the same manoeuvre. 

“Wow.” Liam clung onto him for dear life while the six of them with their five horses sprinted toward the palace. When they arrived, they found frightened guards at the front doors and one of Taylor’s footmen with them. Liz, now angry beyond measure, made short work with him and just straight up let her horse hit him on the head with its hooves. He fell down to the ground, unconscious. 

“Come on!” Liz was already halfway through the gate, waving at her own servants. They were obviously confused, but let them pass. Inside the palace was chaotic. Liz knocked down two more guards on the way to the actual entrance door, where she jumped off her horse and quickly tied its reins to the fence. Liam slid off Niall’s horse, very relieved, and stumbled after the Liz. Josh, Louis, Niall and Harry followed. 

“Quiet now. I’ll lead the way.” It was out of question that Liz would lead them in her own palace. They could hear Taylor’s voice before they actually saw her and her remaining guards. 

“Your daughter is going to be here any minute, and then you will believe me!” 

“Our daughter is with Prince Niall in the kingdom of Mullingar.” The king didn’t let Taylor’s accusations unnerve him. “And now let our servant go!” “She is not your servant, you’ll have to face the truth at some point. She is your daughter’s girlfriend and your future daughter-in-law. And I won’t let her go, no, because they already took Prince Niall from me and one kingdom with him, and now I’m not going to accept the loss of this kingdom as well, they will all belong to me some day and this day lies in the near future, nobody can stop me! I’ll invade Mullingar, King Niall is too weak to fight against my men, I’ll subdue your kingdom when you are finally at odds with each other, disowning your own daughter that silly girl Liz, romanticising with a servant, and I’ll be the founder and heiress of an Empire!” Taylor had gone from scarily sweet to almost screaming, and then she laughed. By then, Liz’s parents must have picked up her craziness. 

“Princess Taylor,” Liz’s mother threw in, but her calm voice was nothing compared to the maniac laugh. 

“I’ll be the queen! My brother will be nothing, and I will be the queen of everything and everyone!” 

“So that is what this is about,” Niall whispered, shocked. “All because she has an inferiority complex?” Liz shook her head. 

“I can’t believe this.” Then, she stepped through the doors they had been hiding beside and creeped up to Taylor from behind. Niall and the other’s followed her quietly. Her parents’ eyes widened synchronously. Taylor was too far gone in her mania to notice anything. 

“I will be the queen! I will…” She didn’t get to finish the sentence, because Niall, Liz and Liam were behind her then. Liz snatched Elle out of her grasp, and Niall and Liam threw themselves on her, soon getting help from the servants of Oldcastle that managed to overpower Taylor’s guards. Taylor didn’t stop her ear-piercing scream until her face turned blue and Niall handed her to one of the servants, tying a cloth in front of her mouth to gag her. 

“Mother, father,” Liz said. She looked up to her parents. Niall was very aware of what they must look like. Liz’s hair was a mess, and he and Liam were no bit better. Liz was holding on tight to Elle, who lay in her arms, shaking from her quiet sobs. 

“Elizabeth. What is going on?” 

“King and Queen of Oldcastle,” Niall greeted them with a bow before he remembered that he was in fact the king of Mullingar now. “I am sorry that we have caused you such inconvenience.” 

“Prince Niall.” 

“King Niall, actually – but that’s not that important now. I plead you to listen to your daughter’s story.” 

Liz looked at him, grateful, and started to tell her parents about everything, beginning with “Niall is really a great friend, but we never intended to marry” and ending with “so please don’t disown me now, I’m still the same, this is going to work out.” She spoke in a very different way to her parents than to her friends, but her politeness seemed to work. After confessing everything, Liz sank down visibly and held on to her girlfriend. Niall felt Liam’s presence behind him and grabbed his hand. 

“I think we need to stop the oppression of servants and degrading them to lesser human beings,” he said loudly when Liz’s parents didn’t react to her daughter’s emotional speech. “Nobody should be treated badly because of something that was never in their hands to decide. I, as the new king of Mullingar, will work actively on the new principles, along with my boyfriend Liam, who I intend to marry when the right time has come.” Niall could see a smile forming on the queen’s face, but it was Liz’s father who finally spoke, directing himself at his daughter. 

“You have been lying to us for a long time, Elizabeth, but I can understand why you did that. Even though it is not an easy thing to do as the sovereigns of our kingdom, as parents your happiness is most important for us. You will stay with us as the Princess of Oldcastle. Of course the girl you are involved with won’t be a servant anymore, but discontinue her work here and get proper treatment.” Liz and Elle fell into a celebratory embrace, while the king was still speaking. 

“I wish to stay in good contact with you, King Niall. Maybe we can exchange some things about the leadership of a kingdom.” 

“I will be delighted,” Niall answered. “But if you don’t mind it, I will go home with my boyfriend and my servants now. I have to organize my father’s funeral.” 

“You have our sincere condolences.” 

“Thank you. And…” Niall pointed to Taylor. She was still struggling against the hold of the guard, not being able to make a sound through the cloth in her mouth. She was the biggest mess of all of them, her lipstick was smeared, her hair messy and her dress ripped. 

“We will have her locked away,” the queen said immediately. “She is out of her right mind. Her parent’s need to be contacted about this. We will stay in touch.” 

“Thank you,” Niall repeated himself. He went to hug Liz good-bye, bid farewell to the queen and the king and then left with the other four. Outside, the sun was setting. Niall bended down and picked a lonely daisy up from the ground, putting it behind his ear, feeling somewhat sane again with a flower on his head, a bit back to innocence. They mounted their horses in silence. 

“This is weird,” Liam sighed from behind Niall. “A few weeks ago, I was just someone who really badly needed a job and knew what to do in a kitchen! And now I am the kings’ boyfriend. Can you teach me how to ride a horse, though?” Niall leaned back slightly into Liam’s arms and smiled happily, even though there was a lot of work waiting for him and a lot of responsibility he now had for real but within the past weeks, he’d learned that it was okay to need help sometimes and that there were always people to care. He sure had never been the usual prince, and as a king he was even less usual, but then again, what is usual and why would he want to be that? 

“I’d do anything for you.”


End file.
